Government apologises for higher load management, cites lower hydropower output

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday apologised to electricity consumers for load management that exceeded the level announced earlier, saying the increase was caused by reduced water availability for hydropower generation.

In a statement, the Power Division said it was apologising for the additional load management necessitated by reduced hydropower availability. A spokesperson for the division also asked consumers to conserve electricity, especially during nighttime hours, and to adopt energy-saving measures.

The statement came after complaints were reported from different parts of the country about heavier-than-promised loadshedding on Tuesday. A day earlier, authorities had said load management would be limited to 2.25 hours in a bid to avoid an increase in electricity prices.

According to the power ministry, load management rose temporarily because hydropower generation fell sharply during peak hours overnight, putting pressure on the electricity system and increasing the gap between demand and supply. "Hydropower production dropped by 1,991 megawatts during the night, contributing to a total shortfall of around 4,500MW at peak demand," the spokesperson said and added that electricity demand during peak hours was about 18,000MW.

The Power Division spokesperson said the decline in hydropower generation resulted from lower water releases from the country’s dams. The statement said the Indus River System Authority was currently releasing water to provinces on the basis of demand, which was significantly lower than the same period last year.

Recent rainfall and the harvesting season had reduced water requirements, leading to lower outflows from reservoirs. Because of this, electricity distribution companies carried out somewhat higher load management than had been scheduled earlier.

The Power Division, however, said the load management was confined to nighttime hours and that there was no shortfall during the day. The report noted, however, that several distribution companies, particularly Islamabad Electric Supply Company, had officially announced three hours of loadshedding in the morning.

The spokesperson said the situation was expected to improve in the coming days as water releases from dams were likely to rise, which would support higher hydropower generation.