Media reports stated that there are numerous ongoing issues with the country’s electricity supply that affect the general public.
Pakistan is experiencing heatwave-like conditions, and the prolonged power outages have made things worse for the populace because the country’s overall energy shortfall has exceeded 8,500 megawatts, sources told the media.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the nation’s total energy needs are 28,500 megawatts, but it is only producing about 20,000 megawatts.
Most of the country experienced a temperature increase of over 40°C on Saturday, which increased the demand for electricity for cooling. As a result, while the supply of power remained constant, demand rose.
Media reports stated that there are numerous ongoing issues with the country’s electricity supply that affect the general public.
No matter whether it is the summer or the winter, when demand is at its highest, their suffering is unabated.
They are without power for one reason or another, whether it be due to a so-called load management plan, authorised shutdowns, technical power outages, or sharp voltage fluctuations that cause brownouts.
Massive nocturnal load-shedding, a relatively recent phenomenon, has made the already miserable lives of many people who have experienced distressing power outages even worse. As a result of these covert actions by the energy industry, nighttime outages have reached an all-time high.
According to The media, daily load shedding now lasts three to six hours in urban areas, up from one to two hours between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.
In stark contrast, the outage of up to four hours every day was announced.
However, the federal power minister has a different interpretation of what is happening in the nation in terms of power supply and demand.
On Saturday, the minister asserted that only 3% of feeders in the national power grid experience daily power interruptions longer than four hours, excluding K-Electric because it is a privatised company.
He stated that a new national record of a total of 30,089 megawatts of power demand has been set, citing power figures for June 23, 2023. He asserted that as many as 92% of feeders in the nation experienced load shedding for no more than three hours each day.
The data provided by the minister, however, did not include power outages caused by technical issues or system overloads because it was restricted to the much-heralded load management plan.
People’s issues with brittle power transmission and distribution systems are much worse and more agonising than what the government suggested.
According to the sources, there is a energy shortfall of 1,000 megawatts in the capital of Punjab Pakistan, Lahore Electric Power Company (LESCO), where demand is 5,700 megawatts and supply is 5,700 megawatts.