Power crisis in the country has once again intensified as the shortfall surged over 6,000megawatts on Wednesday.
Sources said that the demand for electricity by Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) alone has doubled.
They said that the electricity generation in the country currently stands at 13,000megawatts against the demand of 19,000 megawatts.
Talking about reasons for the shortfall, sources said that financial crunch remained at the heart of the current crisis.
According to sources, Pakistan Electric Power Comapany (PEPCO) was supposed to pay over Rs100 billion to independent power producers (IPPs) but could manage only Rs32 billion. With IPPs getting only 30 percent of their dues, their fuel supplies dipped and so did their generation.
As a result, the electricity distribution companies are forced to resort to prolonged unannounced load shedding causing great inconvenience to the people in this scorching summer heat.
LESCO Chairman Rao Zamir said that his company’s electricity quota is 2,647megwatts while the demand has surged beyond 4,700 megawatts.
He said that LESCO is trying to avoid power load shedding during sehr and iftar time and urged the customers to avoid unnecessary consumption of electricity.
