Power crisis worsens as shortfall hits 5,300 MW

Pakistan’s electricity shortfall once again hit the 5,300 Mega Watts (MW) figure, and most parts of the country, especially Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), have been subjected to prolonged and unscheduled electricity load shedding varying between 16 to 18 hours per day.
At present, the power supply across the country is 9,500 MW with demand around 15,000 MW, causing the said shortfall.
Taking serious notice of the crisis across the country, caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso has already summoned a meeting of the entire government stakeholders on Monday to introduce some important decisions.
Caretaker Federal Minister for Water and Power Dr Musadaq Malik has also logged a complaint against non-cooperation from ministries of petroleum and finance, who are reportedly reluctant in making payments.
In Peshawar, electricity load shedding went up to 14 hours whereas in KP’s tribal areas and outskirts, the situation is worse with electricity available for only five to six hours per day.
In Punjab, power outage has almost destroyed industry. In Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and neighbouring cities, people are suffering from load shedding for 12 to 14 hours daily.
Lahore, Kasur, Muridke and Bhai Pheru have been hit most due to the increase in the shortfall. Power outages, lasting as long as 20 hours, were recorded in Faisalabad and Gujranwala.
Various parts of the twin cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, have also remained without electricity for hours since the last few months.
The major reason behind the prevailing chronic power outages is that most power generation plants and reservoirs of the country were built in 1960 and now face around 40 to 50 percent decrease in their power generation capacity as well as visible reduction in water storage capacity.
In addition, most rivers of the country are facing water shortage which has a negative impact on power generation, contributing significantly to the power crises.
Also, the government does not pay power generation companies for the electricity it duly consumes. The companies in turn cannot pay their overheads or afford to import power, and the supply stalls.
The circular debt reached at least $4.4 billion in 2011-12 and power cuts shaved three to four percent off GDP in the financial year 2010-11, according to the government’s Planning Commission. The estimated present circular debts are around 300 to 400 billion which have also magnified the present load shedding situation.
The government would have to bell the cat by removing subsidies being paid from the national exchequer for electricity to normalise the situation and to reduce its financial burden.
No proper census has taken place in the country after 1998, which has contributed in wrong estimations being made prior to introducing new projects as well as managing supply and demand.
The economy is in a poorer health now, than in 2012. Foreign exchange reserves have dwindled to a large extent, which cover less than two months of imports. That is making it impossible to manage more spending in providing furnace oil to power generation companies.
Majority of the power plants have stopped producing power due to unavailability of oil and gas owing mainly due to stalled payments by the government.
On April 9, the premier directed the Ministry of Water and Power to take immediate measures to improve the power situation and use all available resources to ensure that power generation is optimised so that minimum load shedding is carried out in the country.
It was decided in the same meeting that the Ministry of Finance would inject an amount of Rs 20 billion immediately to ensure fuel supply to thermal power plants. However, reportedly, due to non-cooperation by the finance minister, the crisis has worsened.
The current power shortage situation has reached a point where alternate resources to generate power for domestic and commercial users, such as generators and UPS, are proving insufficient for providing relief to the people.