Energy minister announces end of load management across the country
Energy Minister Awais Leghari speaking in a video message. SCREENGRAB
Energy Minister Awais Leghari on Friday announced the end of load management across the country following the arrival of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes.
In a video message posted on the minister's X account, Leghari recalled that around two weeks ago, consumers had faced load shedding due to a shortage of gas supply. On April 13 and 14, up to five hours of load shedding had to be carried out. However, there was no load management from April 17 to 19, while from April 19 to 29, load shedding was reduced to two to two-and-a-half hours.
He said the recent electricity shortfall and scheduled load shedding experienced earlier this month were not due to any technical failure or inability to generate power, but because of temporary fuel supply constraints.
لوڈ مینجمنٹ کے خاتمے کے متعلق وفاقی وزیر توانائی سردار اویس احمد خان لغاری کا اہم پیغام:
الحمدللہ، ایل این جی کی بروقت فراہمی کے بعد ملک میں بجلی کی لوڈ مینجمنٹ کا خاتمہ کر دیا گیا ہے۔ حالیہ دنوں میں گیس کی کمی کے باعث محدود وقت کے لیے لوڈ شیڈنگ کرنا پڑی، تاہم حکومت نے ذمہ دارانہ… pic.twitter.com/2ZCEPGDPGK“After six to seven years, when Nawaz Sharif’s government ended load shedding, this is happening for the first time,” he said.
He said the gas shortage was caused by disruptions in LNG supplies amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict, noting that expensive alternative fuels such as diesel and furnace oil could have been used to eliminate load shedding, but this would have placed an additional financial burden on consumers.
He said the country had been forced to rely on expensive alternatives such as diesel and furnace oil to meet demand, warning that this would have increased electricity costs for consumers.
The minister said additional gas supplies, which were purchased on spot rates, had arrived. The minister added that hydropower generation had increased significantly, rising from around 1,000 megawatt to 6,000MW, helping improve supply levels.
Read: War can cost Pakistan $10b to $68b
The minister said that LNG cargoes had now reached Pakistan, improving fuel availability for power plants. “After this, load shedding has now ended,” he said, expressing hope that the country would no longer face scheduled outages.
He also dismissed claims about installed capacity shortages, saying Pakistan’s total generation capacity was around 32,000MW, not 46,000MW as claimed by some critics. He added that hydropower output varied seasonally, affecting overall supply.
He said that the government had to run furnace oil-based plants to overcome the shortfall, but efforts would continue to protect consumers from expensive electricity. “With timely measures, we are hopeful that the public will not face load shedding in the coming days,” he added.
The country has been facing a worsening electricity crisis, with the overall power shortfall reaching 6,500MW, leading to prolonged load-shedding in several regions and mounting public frustration.
“After April 1, the supply of LNG from abroad came to a halt, and Qatar declared force majeure. From that day onward, a significant gap emerged in meeting requirements that were previously fulfilled during peak hours through gas-based power plants,” the energy minister had said in a press conference on April 16.
On April 14, the Power Division announced that due to rising electricity demand during peak hours, electricity would be suspended for around 2.25 hours daily between 5pm and 1am countrywide under its “peak relief strategy”.
Read More: Govt raises petrol by Rs6.51, high-speed diesel by Rs19.39 per litre
However, across both urban and rural areas, consumers reported outages far exceeding the limited "load management" described by authorities. In remote districts, electricity cuts stretching up to 12 hours, and in some cases as high as 16 hours, had effectively brought routine life to a halt.
“The purpose of this load management is to reduce the use of expensive fuel and prevent a rise in electricity prices," the power division had said.
Since rising tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East led to a surge in petroleum prices, the government has increased fuel prices by more than 50%.
The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran in February, after which Tehran retaliated with strikes and closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil supplies and triggering a sharp rise in international oil prices.
Amid the rising prices, the government, in the first week of March, increased petroleum product prices twice, noting that the hikes exceeded the increase in the international market. However, the most significant increase was witnessed in April this year.
Last month, the government raised the petrol price by Rs137 per litre, taking it to a record Rs458.4. However, a few days later, the prime minister, in a televised address, announced a Rs80 per litre reduction in the petroleum levy on petrol, bringing its price down to Rs378 per litre.
Last week, the government again increased the prices of both high-speed diesel and petrol by Rs26.77 per litre despite no corresponding increase in international rates, as it imposed nearly Rs27 per litre additional levy on fuel to push prices higher.
Just a week later, it raised petroleum product prices again on Thursday, bringing them close to Rs400 per litre.