Rampant load shedding hits right to life: LHC CJ

The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has ruled that rampant electricity load shedding is an immediate and present problem that affects right to life and quality of life of citizens. Issuing detailed judgement on petitions against electricity load shedding on Thursday, the CJ said 10 to 12 hours of load shedding every day during extreme summer weather shows that the authorities have not taken effective steps which they needed to take.
The CJ said the court''s involvement to this case means to indicate a lack of intensity, planning and commitment by government to address the menace of load shedding. The CJ observed that public inconvenience with load shedding rises dramatically during the month of Ramazan. Referring to the statement of joint secretary ministry of water and power, the CJ said it amounts to an admission of inefficiency in the management of the power distribution system. He added that rules for transparency in appointments of the functionaries on the BODs and as CEOs of the DISCOs have not been implemented.
The CJ said that the respondent authorities'' seem unhelpful in addressing the court''s concern that a reasonable right to life and to livelihood of power consumers is being restricted especially at the lower end of the scale because of their inability to access alternate sources of power supply. He observed that in redressing the situation, meritorious appointments in accordance with law on the posts of members of board of directors and chief executives of power sector companies are essential.
The CJ said it is acknowledged that the rationing option of giving single phase power supply to willing consumers on the promise of diminished or no load shedding has not been explored by the government. He said as the authorities accepted that single phase power supply can provide relief to low end consumers who lack means to arrange private sources of power supply. Single phase power supply can be delivered to opting consumers by installing a relevant metering system.
Throughout the civilised world, commercial activity past 6:00pm is rare. No efforts have been made to encourage early hours in the morning for retail business or avoidance of post daylight public functions, the CJ said, adding that role modelling or rethinking has not been resorted.
The parties to this list may collect the legal material on the point of legally recognised rationing criteria and bring it for adjudication to be made in accordance with law and public interest about the validity and propriety of the respondents'' resort to load shedding as the sole rationing instrument for the present day power shortage. The court a few days back had disposed of several identical petitions through a short order.