PM calls for 'urgent' steps to mitigate load-shedding

Nawaz says problem should be solved at the earliest for the convenience of the people

ISLAMABAD: A day after his pledge on load-shedding suffered a blow, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday all steps must be taken on an urgent basis to address the current load-shedding problem in the country.

Read: PM’s pledge on load-shedding suffers blow

"The problem should be solved at the earliest for the convenience of the people," Nawaz said, while expressing his concerns to the Secretary of Water and Power Younus Dagha.

It seems that in a bid to resolve the power crisis, the premier has had to turn directly to the bureaucracy running the power infrastructure in the country.

The premier was informed that there was an unprecedented surge in power demand on the first day of Ramazan which necessitated forced load shedding for some time.

Read: Unscheduled load shedding provokes protests

He said that this would only be brought under control if the demand for electricity decreases.

Earlier on Thursday, Nawaz directed that consumers should be provided uninterrupted power during sehri and iftari in the month of Ramazan.

“There should be no load sheeding from 6:30pm to 10:30pm for iftari and taraweeh.”

“Further, there should be no load shedding one hour before and one hour after sehri and overall load shedding should not exceed the approved limit,” the premier added.

On Friday, the first day of fasting turned out to be a testing one for the people of Karachi, as temperatures soared to 40 degrees centigrade and the electricity demand hit a record high of 3,100 megawatts.

Govt trying to control loadshedding: Asif

Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday that forced loadshedding has been controlled with improvement in power supply, Radio Pakistan reported.

In a statement, he said that 93% of urban and 86% of rural areas are being provided with uninterrupted electricity at ‘Iftar’, ‘Taraweeh’ and ‘Sehri’ timings and that gradually the situation was returning towards a normal schedule of loadshedding during the day.

He said that although there were high-loss areas where recovery was minimal and theft high, they were still trying to maintain a level of electricity supply in consideration for the month of Ramazan.

The minister added that supply of electricity to Karachi was the responsibility of K-Electric. He said that they (Minsitry of Water and Power) were supplying 650MW to Karachi despite an agreement to that effect having expired and no new arrangement setteled on so far.

Asif said the electricity situation was being monitored continuously except for system constraints. He added that a federal complaint cell was also operating round the clock for ratification of technical faults.