ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP):The Senate was informed on Friday that load-shedding in Swabi district was being carried out under the policy of economic load management on the basis of feeder losses and was not linked to electricity production in the area.
Responding to a question raised by Senator Mishal, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari clarified that reports claiming 12 hours of load-shedding across the entire district were factually incorrect.
He told the House that out of 55 feeders in Swabi, 47 were not facing load-shedding, while the remaining feeders — where line losses exceeded 80 per cent — were subject to 12 hours of scheduled outages.
The minister said the government was implementing a transparent policy under which feeders with high technical and commercial losses, including electricity theft, were placed under economic load management until recoveries improved.
Awais Leghari emphasised that electricity generation in a particular district, including areas hosting major hydropower projects such as Tarbela, had no direct relationship with load-shedding decisions.
He said load management was determined solely on the basis of technical and commercial performance indicators rather than geographic considerations.
The minister further informed the House that in the past, uninterrupted electricity had been supplied to certain feeders despite high losses, resulting in significant financial damage to the power sector.
However, he noted that some areas had subsequently improved recoveries and reduced line losses, which led to a reduction in load-shedding hours from 12 or 18 hours to two or four hours.
Awais Leghari said load-shedding on high-loss feeders would continue until losses were brought down to acceptable levels, reiterating that the policy was aimed at improving financial discipline and sustainability in the power distribution system.