The country could face load shedding once again in the next few weeks if the Finance Ministry does not release more money for the power sector because the Rs 11 billion released last week can curtail power outages for only 20 to 25 days, following which more funds would be required to meet the electricity demand, sources told Pakistan Today on Monday. The country was facing a power crisis that intensified in the last week of September, fueling public anger that led to widespread and violent protests across the whole country, particularly Punjab.
It was then that on orders from the prime minister, the Finance Ministry provided Rs 11 billion to powerhouses HUBCO and KAPCO for fuel payments on October 4. Sources in the Water and Power Ministry said however that the funds provided last week could curtail load shedding until the end of October at best, and the government would once again have to shell out more at the end of the month or the people could expect more outages.
RS 500 MILLION MORE: “At least another Rs 500 million are required by the power sector to continue an uninterrupted supply of electricity,” said an official, who asked not to be identified by name, adding that if the government did not release more funds there was a strong possibility that load shedding would return. However, he said, the daily duration of the load shedding could not be predicted yet and would depend on the power needs and shortfall. During last spell of load shedding, the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) had given various reasons for the shortfall, among them unavailability of fuel and a decrease in water releases from the dams.
Interestingly, these problems were met immediately after the orders of the prime minister. Another official of the Water and Power Ministry, who similarly sought anonymity, said the release of water would also decrease in the coming days, increasing power shortfall further. He said independent power producers (IPPs) would suffer and at least 4,000MW of electricity would exit the system, creating instant load shedding. “The government would never like to give a chance to the opposition to do politics over the issue,” he said, adding that the people should nevertheless hope for an early winter so that the power demand falls and they face less load shedding.
