Reduction in power shortfall fails to curb load-shedding

Resolving fuel shortage, technical issues of power plants helped in generating more electricity

ISLAMABAD:

The electricity shortfall in the country has reduced by 2,100 megawatts in the last couple of days after resolving the fuel shortage and technical issues of power plants, but still up to six hours of load-shedding is being witnessed in cities across the country.

The power shortfall, which stood at 6,000MW a couple of days ago, has been brought down to 3,900MW.

According to sources in the Power Division, the supply of fuel has started while the technical problems of the power plants have also been resolved, due to which the shortfall has been reduced.
The sources said the duration of load-shedding in different cities of Pakistan has reached five to six hours from the previous up to 10 hours.

While the electricity shortfall has started decreasing, continued load-shedding is making miserable the lives of citizens as the mercury is increasing across the country.

The sources revealed that Pakistan was currently generating 17,600MW against the demand of 21,500MW. They added that 1,100MW was being generated through hydropower sources and the government’s thermal plants were generating 2,500MW. On the other hand, they said, the private sector power plants was generating 14,000MW.

During a meeting held at the headquarters of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) last week, the heads of power plants had revealed that they had to shut down operations due to lack of fuel or other technical issues.

The authority had directed the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) to formulate a plan for disbursement of funds as soon as possible.