Staff Correspondent
RESHUN: The residents of Reshun on Sunday announced to open the Chitral-Mastuj road they had blocked as a protest against high electricity tariffs, but said their sit-in will continue.
The decision was announced by Reshun Power Committee leader Haji Abdur Rab and others. They said that the residents had launched a protest sit-in at Reshun blocking the main artery since Friday afternoon.
Keeping in view the hardship of the people of Upper Chitral, including women and children, who remained stranded at Reshun, the elders of Reshun decided to open the road for one week.
They said that if the demands of the locals over the high tariffs of electricity generated at the local powerhouse were not met within a week, the locals would announced their next plan of action.
They said that the local leaders of the ruling PTI had contacted the protesters and also conveyed a request from Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi to open the road. They said that the peaceful sit-in will continue till the issue was resolved.
It may be mentioned here that Ms Suriya Bibi is currently in Booni but she did not visit the protest camp to hold talks with the protesters and resolve the issue so far.
Increase in tariffs
According to a notification issued on May 24, 2023, the electricity tariffs were revised for consumers of the Reshun Hydropower Station under an agreement between PEDO and PESCO, also signed by the elected and political leadership of Chitral.
The notification set residential rates ranging from Rs13.48 per unit for the first 100 units to Rs35.22 per unit for consumption above 700 units, while commercial consumers using less than 5 kilowatts were charged Rs30.25 per unit.
According to the document, the revised tariffs were approved under a Memorandum of Understanding between PEDO and PESCO, with the involvement of political representatives and community elders from Chitral.
The notification also stated that the rates could be increased or decreased in line with changes in PESCO’s tariff slabs.
Residents, however, say the tariff arrangement has placed an unfair financial burden on local consumers and accuse the authorities of failing to honour previous assurances regarding electricity rates.