Peshawar  -  As temperatures soar across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), frequent power outages have sparked frustration among residents, especially in the outskirts of Peshawar and Mardan divisions, who are expressing their concerns on social media and community platforms.

Despite KP’s vast potential for hydropower, load shedding and low voltage in districts such as Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, and Charsadda are disrupting daily life.

“I fear that the food in my fridge may spoil if load shedding continues for long hours,” said Riaz Khan, a consumer of the Pabbi feeder in Nowshera district. “These long intervals of load shedding are also affecting students currently appearing in matriculation exams, as well as businesses and everyday activities.”

Although the government is making consistent efforts to bridge the supply and demand gap during summer, many areas still experience power outages. These include regions with low electricity bill recovery rates, where, according to policy, the load shedding duration is higher than in areas with better recovery.

Many residents have installed solar panels, while those who cannot afford them are forced to endure the full brunt of the outages.

According to PESCO officials, KP is currently receiving about 1,873 MW of electricity from the national grid, while demand stands at around 3,220 MW—resulting in a shortfall of 1,347 MW, managed through load management across the province.

Under the Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses (ATCL) formula, officials noted that areas with high losses—such as Bannu, rural parts of Peshawar including Warsak Road, Chagarmatti, Regi, and DI Khan district—are subjected to longer load shedding hours.

“There is no load-shedding in areas like Hayatabad and Gulbahar in Peshawar due to high recovery ratios and the absence of the ‘kunda’ (illegal connection) culture,” the official said. “The key reasons behind prolonged load shedding include electricity theft via direct hooks, an outdated power distribution system, and the lack of construction of large dams.”

Despite Pakistan’s potential to generate thousands of megawatts of hydel power—including in KP—this critical resource remains underutilized due to flawed energy policies of past governments. Even after the previous PTI government’s slogan of building 200 dams, little progress was made.

However, the current government is taking necessary measures to harness this potential, though the mistakes of decades cannot be undone in a matter of months.

“Due to global warming and climate change, glaciers in our northern areas are melting rapidly. Constructing dams is essential to store this water for domestic and agricultural use,” remarked Dr Zilakat Malik, former Chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Peshawar.

He said numerous sites on rivers in KP are ideal for constructing dams, particularly small and medium ones, to tap into the province’s 30,000 MW hydel power potential.

Engr Zahoor Hussain, Director of Projects at WAPDA (North), said that over 90% of work on the multipurpose Kurram Tangi Dam (Stage-1) in Bannu and North Waziristan—originally inaugurated by then Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif—has been completed. Once inaugurated, it will contribute additional power to the national grid.

He added that the Asian Development Bank has assisted WAPDA in completing the design and feasibility study for Kurram Tangi Dam (Stage-II), a large-scale project capable of storing around 1.2 million acre-feet of water and generating 80.9 MW of electricity.

He also noted that the 108 MW Golen Gol Dam in Chitral has been completed, while work on the 800 MW Mohmand Dam on the Swat River—with a storage capacity of 1.293 MAF—has been expedited. “This mega dam will help irrigate 160,000 acres of existing land and around 18,237 acres of new land, offering annual benefits of Rs2.23 billion,” he said.

Additionally, he stated that the Mohmand Dam will provide 300 million gallons of drinking water per day to Peshawar and protect Peshawar, Charsadda, and Nowshera from floods.

Engr Zahoor also mentioned that construction work on the Dasu Hydropower Project on the Indus River in Kohistan is underway. “The project will be developed in two stages. Stage-I will generate 2,160 MW, while Stage-II, expected to be completed in five years, will add another 2,160 MW.”

Meanwhile, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station is being built at Azakhel Bala in Nowshera district under the CASA-1000 Project, aimed at transmitting 1,300 MW of clean, low-cost electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan.

According to the KP Energy Department, the 36.6 MW Daral Khwar Hydropower Project in Madain, Swat, has been completed and is expected to generate over Rs1.3 billion annually. Additionally, the 300 MW Balakot Hydropower Project—worth Rs. 85 billion and approved by ECNEC—is being developed on the Kunhar River in Mansehra, promising to be a valuable addition to the grid.

Engr Zahoor further said that the Gomal Zam Dam in South Waziristan, with a storage capacity of 114,000 cubic feet of water, has started generating power and providing irrigation. With a generation capacity of 17.4 MW, the dam benefits around 25,000 households and has been formally handed over to WAPDA for operation.

The first unit of the Suki Kinari Hydropower Station—constructed on the Kunhar River in Mansehra—has successfully achieved synchronization and begun supplying electricity to local communities. Once fully operational, the project will generate 884 MW of electricity.

Experts believe that these hydropower projects will not only provide much-needed relief to consumers but also accelerate economic and agricultural growth across the country.