Electricity : ‘Demand rises 3,000MW in one year’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Director General Ejaz Rafique Qureshi said on Monday that during the last one year demand increased by 3,000MW and resulted in the public facing power cuts. Qureshi added that there was a demand for 17,000MW while last year’s demand stood around 13,000 to 14,000MW. The government would soon decrease power outages as 572 MW would be added to new power plants in the near future. Moreover, four other major projects would be completed soon that will add 2,000 MW to the national grid. The World Bank allocated $15.6 million to Pakistan in order to help and overcome the power crisis, he said, adding that Tarbela extension project was underway to produce 1,350 MW, increasing its generation capacity to 4,828MW from 3,478MW.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2011.