Prolonged load-shedding adds to people’s miseries

Power Division says electricity shortfall has hit 5,018MW

ISLAMABAD:

Prolonged load-shedding coupled with high temperatures in the country on Friday continued to wreak havoc on people’s lives with electricity shortfall reaching 5,018 megawatts.

With sky-rocketing fuel prices, most people found using generators run on petrol and diesel hard to use. As if inflation had not burdened the people enough to meet their daily needs, the government on Thursday jacked fuel prices by up to Rs30 per litre to meet the International Monetary Fund’s condition for releasing the $1 billion loan tranche.

Staying indoors in the scorching hot day was no more an option for the people of Karachi as they tried to beat the heat at Sea View. Several families were seen bathing in the sea while others were sitting on the benches enjoying the breeze.

The situation in Lahore was no different. The youth were seen swimming in canals while families thronged parks and spots surrounded by greenery.

The twin cities – Islamabad and Rawalpindi – also witnessed up to eight hours of load-shedding.
According to the Power Division, the country was generating 19,982MW against a total demand of 25,000MW as load-shedding of six to eight hours continued across different parts.

Sources told The Express Tribune that currently 5,262MW was being generated from hydropower sources while government thermal plants were generating 1,317MW. They added that the nuclear power plants were generating 2,280MW of electricity, wind power plants 1,011MW, biogas power plants 149MW, and solar power plants were not generating anything.

According to the sources, the total output of private sector power plants was 9,963MW. While the country struggled to meet its power needs, load-shedding of six to eight hours continued in different parts of the country, making the lives of people miserable.

The sources said that the duration of load-shedding was longer in areas with high power losses, which means that people in those cities avoid paying inflated bills as they find it difficult to make ends meet.