Loadshedding to ease from tonight as power shortfall nears 4000MW

Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday announced a reduction in electricity loadshedding starting tonight, despite an ongoing shortfall of nearly 4,000 megawatts.

He said supply conditions would improve compared to the previous day and apologised for inconvenience caused to consumers, adding that efforts were under way to stabilise the power situation.

The minister stated that no loadshedding is being carried out in Hyderabad and for consumers served by K-Electric, which is currently drawing around 2,100 megawatts from the national grid.

He said the country is facing a supply gap of about 4,000 megawatts, attributing the situation to reduced gas availability due to geopolitical disruptions and a decline of around 1,600 megawatts in hydropower generation.

He added that disruption in LNG supplies has resulted in a shortage exceeding 3,000 megawatts, while hydropower output has also fallen during the period.

Electricity demand in April has ranged between 9,000 and 20,000 megawatts, with loadshedding increasing when demand crossed 16,500 megawatts, according to the minister.

He said approximately 1,400 megawatts of electricity is currently being generated using furnace oil and described the situation as temporary, adding that earlier load management of 2.5 hours was introduced to contain electricity costs.

Responding to concerns raised by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority regarding economic loadshedding, he said the practice could be formalised in the future.

He also said increased reliance on furnace oil could raise fuel price adjustments by about Rs1.30 per unit.