Govt issues important announcement regarding load-shedding

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Federal Minister for Energy, Owais Leghari, announced that electricity load shedding will decrease throughout the country beginning at midnight tonight, which will provide partial electricity relief for customers who experience extended power outages.

The minister expressed his apologies for creating public inconvenience through his statements at the press conference, while he confirmed that the government recognizes the challenges that arise from the current power supply deficit.

The power supply situation will show improvement through ongoing efforts, according to him, because load shedding will start to decrease from tonight onward.

He explained that Hyderabad and K-Electric service areas currently operate without any load shedding. He said that K-Electric presently obtains a historic 2,100 megawatts of electricity from the national grid while the country faces an overall electricity deficit of 4,000 megawatts.

The minister explained that multiple factors contribute to the power crisis, which include reduced hydropower generation and interruptions in gas supply.

Hydropower production has declined by approximately 1,600 megawatts, according to him, while LNG supply problems have resulted in a deficit of more than 3,000 megawatts.

He said that regional tensions have disrupted fuel availability which created part of the fuel supply problem. He explained that electricity demand during April has ranged from 9,000 to 20,000 megawatts, while load shedding starts when electricity usage exceeds 16,500 megawatts.

The minister declared that the current power situation will improve because hydropower generation will resume and fuel availability will reach normal levels.