Acting President of Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI), Ahmed Idrees Chohan, has expressed serious concern over HESCO’s sharp increase in load-shedding hours and poor planning as the summer season begins. He stated that the previously announced 10-hour load-shedding schedule has now been extended to 12 hours, while unannounced power outages have further exacerbated the difficulties faced by the public and the business community.

He highlighted that the most distressing situation occurs during the peak business hours between 5 PM and 10 PM, when power outages severely disrupt business operations, causing substantial losses to shopkeepers and small-scale industries. Additionally, frequent tripping of feeders across various parts of the city has become a norm, affecting not only commercial activities but also causing significant inconvenience to the general public.

Acting president further stated that HESCO has inexplicably initiated maintenance work during these extremely hot and unbearable summer months, which reflects gross negligence and irresponsibility. He emphasized that such work could have been efficiently carried out during winter. Due to HESCO’s lack of year-round planning and incompetent management, the public is now suffering. Several hours of power outages are being observed due to ongoing maintenance work, which clearly indicates HESCO’s mismanagement.

He urged the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HESCO to immediately notice this alarming situation, reassess the current load-shedding schedule, and ensure an uninterrupted power supply during crucial evening business hours. He also demanded the earliest possible completion of all maintenance work to provide much-needed relief to the public and the business sector.