Pepco ordered to issue outages plan within 3 days

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered Pepco, Wapda and minister for water and power to issue loadshedding schedule within three days. Justice Umar Ata Bandial passed these orders on the petition of Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi, media advisor save judiciary committee (SJC). The petitioner through his Barrister Farooq Hassan sought compliance of courts orders of April 19 that banned unannounced loadshedding, directing pepco and other respondents to issuing a loadshedding plan. He said Pepco, Wapda and minister for water and power were sitting idle despite courts order and they had not yet given any loadshedding schedule to public. The counsels for respondents, however, sought time for submitting a loadshedding schedule. On this, the court directed them to ensure the schedule was issued in three days. The petitioner stated non-implementation of loadshedding schedule by pepco was tantamount to contempt of court. However, instead of contempt proceedings the petitioner limited his prayer to implementation of courts for schedule. In addition, Justice Umar Ata Bandial adjourned till May 3 hearing of a petition challenging imposition of 6 per cent additional surcharge in electricity bills as fuel adjustment payable from February 2010. As the proceeding started on Thursday the counsel for Pepco and Wapda told the court that pepco had not imposed the six percent tax rather it was done by national electric power regulatory authority (NEPRA). On this the petitioners counsel Barrister Farooq Hassan sought permission to add Nepra in the list of respondents and the court allowed it. Now, further proceedings on the electricity tax matter would resume on May 3.