Cities are expected to face up to six hours of power load shedding, while rural areas will face up to eight hours of power outages in this summer every day, the Water and Power Ministry announced on Tuesday while revealing its power load management plan.
There will be zero load shedding in industrial sector except during peak summer months during which industrial load management may be introduced, a statement of the ministry said. The load shedding hours will be longer in the areas with lower recovery of bills and incidents of electricity theft, the ministry said.
The ministry claimed in its statement that the power generation has improved in the country as compared to the year 2013 as the load shedding hours have reduced by 50 percent.
Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali has called the shopkeepers to keep their shops closed latest by 9pm in order to save electricity. “If the shops don’t close by the fixed timings their owners would have to pay bills according to the industrial tariff,” he warned.
The overall situation of power availability is improving with each passing month due to untiring efforts made on all fronts, including system improvements, better management, transparency and addition of new power generation, the statement added.
As compared to 60% use of power capacity availability in 2013, the expected generation during this summer is estimated as 85% of the generation capacity.
The load shedding hours on average has witnessed a 50 % decline as compared to year 2013 and will continue to such decline after peak summer months.
The ministry has appealed to consumers to adopt energy conservation during their daily routine which can lead to saving of around 1500 MW of electricity.
