The Supreme Court has annulled the Peshawar High Court's decision to provide uninterrupted electricity to consumers who pay bills regularly.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan accepted Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s (PESCO) appeal and instructed the people affected by loadshedding to approach National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
The judge said the high court cannot directly issue an order while the relevant forum is in place.
During the hearing, the lawyer for PESCO said the high court ordered to file cases against the authorities in case of loadshedding. Power outages is a countrywide problem, so cases against PESCO officials will be unjustified.
The lawyer for the petitioner citizen said the court had asked for details of loadshedding at the previous hearing, and the high court ordered to provide electricity to those who paid bills regularly.
Justice Muneeb Akhtar remarked that there may be many technical points in this matter, and asked how the court will review it. “What will happen to those feeders from where no recovery is being made?” he asked.
The Supreme Court annulled the decision to end electricity loadshedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said the Peshawar High Court order was against the law.
The law has established the NEPRA authority and tribunal forums against the distribution companies. The high court cannot pass orders directly while the relevant forum existed.
