Power crisis continues : Gap between demand and supply paralyses locals

Citizens bear the heat; official data shows shortfall of 1,100 MW.

LAHORE: The gap between the demand and supply of electricity continued as power outages again made the lives of citizens miserable in the provincial capital.

Combating the heat without electricity is no easy feat, locals said.  According to official figures, the Lahore Electricity Supply Company (Lesco) received a supply of around 2,500 MW against the demand of over 3,600 MW on Monday. The numbers showed the company was facing over a power shortfall of 1,100 MW.

Data indicated that total power generation in the country was 15,345 MW on Monday morning, of which 4,034 MW was produced by WAPDA’s hydel power plants, 8,524 MW was gained from independent power producers (IPPs), 2,788 MW came from power generation companies (GENCOs), 442 MW from wind power, 240 MW from solar and 135 MW from biogas.



From various areas of the city, citizens complained they were facing unbearable durations of outages. “On Monday night, we hardly got electricity supply for a couple of hours. Despite repeated attempts, no LESCO official was accessible to hear our complaints. All family members, including young children, had to live in the dark for long periods as UPS batteries were drained in an hour,” College Road resident Muhammad Shafiq told The Express Tribune.

Others also complained that they were facing prolonged load-shedding for a consecutive three to four hours on a daily basis in their areas. Kamran said unscheduled load-shedding had ruined businesses and routine life in the city. “In urban areas, citizens are suffering from eight to 10 hours of load-shedding. I only wonder what the situation will be in rural and semi-urban areas,” he questioned.

LESCO spokesman said the company was facing a spiraling electricity demand owing to the increase in the use of air-conditioners, room coolers and fans. “We are trying to reduce consumers’ agony by serving all segments, such as industrial, commercial and residential, equally.” He added the company has limited electricity supply and it there will be no respite till new power houses are up and running.



There have been consistent complaints throughout the city over unscheduled outages over the last few days. Mrs Khan, a mother of two, pointed out that her children’s annual examinations were around the corner. According to her, the timing could not be worse for the Lahore Electricity Supply Company (LESCO) to increase these outages.

“For the past couple of days, there is no fixed schedule for load-shedding, which is badly affecting the children’s study routine. They can neither sleep nor study in the scorching summer heat due to the outages,” she maintained. Even political parties got into the act and took a jab at the ruling PML-N for failing to “empower” citizens.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central leader Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar underscored that Pakistan could not flourish in the presence of the current energy crisis and corruption. “Increase in breakdowns was a result of mismanagement and bad governance. Billions of rupees worth of gas and electricity is being stolen from the system, but the government never takes any action to control the pilferage,” he asserted. “It is also a big question mark over the performance of utility companies,” he maintained.

Last week, a Lesco spokesperson said some areas which faced three hours of load shedding were now going through six hours without power. He added it was difficult to meet demand in this harsh weather.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2017.