Power shortfall exceeds 6,500MW amid searing heat

Electricity outages of eight to 10 hours a day expected across country

ISLAMABAD:

As the nation continues to grapple with an intense heat wave, citizens will face power outages for several hours a day because of the shortfall in electricity generation reaching 6,516 megawatts.

The power outages will continue for eight to 10 hours a day all over Pakistan because of the electricity shortfall.

Power Division sources said the total production of electricity in the country was 21,484MW, whereas the demand had hit 28,000MW.

Currently, 8,900MW of electricity was being generated by private sector plants and 7,073MW through hydropower.

Similarly, 3,164MW was being produced by the nuclear power plants.

A total of 1,119MW was being generated using solar power and 956MW by government thermal plants.

Bagasse is being used to produce 152MW.

According to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) spokesperson, the current electricity demand in the federal capital region was 2,637MW.

However, the spokesperson added that only 2,500MW of electricity was being supplied to IESCO from the national grid.

The IESCO consumers were being subjected to two hours of “load management” because of the difference of 137MW.

The spokesperson said the load on the distribution system had increased because of the increase in severity of heat and the power utility’s field staff was fully mobilised for addressing individual grievances.

The news came shortly after the government approved a Rs328 billion power sector subsidy package.

The package was given the nod mainly to pick the cost of electricity of the K-Electric (KE) consumers and to partially clear the much-delayed dues of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s power projects.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved to pick Rs250.7 billion subsidy for the consumers of KE – Karachi’s sole electricity supplier – and Rs20.7 billion for the clearance of the Chinese power plants' dues.

It gave the nod to another Rs56 billion for bearing the cost of electricity subsidy for the consumers of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the Rs250.7 billion to be paid as price differential subsidy for the KE consumers, a sum of Rs76 billion will be returned during the current fiscal year in addition to around Rs35 billion non-cash settlement.

The rest of the amount will be released in the next fiscal year, according to the decision.

Headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the ECC also approved an electricity surcharge of Rs1.52 per unit to be recovered from the KE consumers in 12 months.

Through the surcharge, the government would recover Rs25 billion from the KE consumers, the finance ministry said.