Summer heat triggers new wave of protests against load shedding

As summers approach, the intensity in warm temperature increases, and so does the hours of load shedding in Punjab’s major cities, including Lahore.
Citizens, frustrated with the summer heat and electricity providers, have started protesting and burning tyres on the streets of Lahore.
About 12 to 14 hours of load shedding is being carried out in major cities of Punjab, whereas the rural areas of Punjab are suffering from more than 20 hours of load shedding every day. Some villages are reported to be deprived of electricity for over 22 hours a day.
Numerous people tired of load shedding and the rising heat, burnt tires and staged protest in Hafiz Abad, while roads were blocked in various parts of Gujranwala.
The power short fall reached 5,000 megawatts on Sunday, and the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) resorted to unscheduled long load shedding in rural and urban areas.
Cities affected by the unscheduled load shedding include Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Mandi Bhawal, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Sheikhupura, Okara and Multan.
PEPCO sources said that the demand for electricity was 15,912MW while the current power generation was 10,912MW. They said the IPPs were providing 5,503MW and Thermal plants only 1,378 MW. They said that hydropower generation showed some improvement, reaching 4,131 MW.
Sources said the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) was being provided 710MW of electricity. They said that due to increase in temperature, people had switched on their air conditioners and the demand was increasing at a rapid pace. However due to non payments for oil and gas, power generation by the IPPs was not keeping pace.