Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Welcome back to another blog. This article will discuss “Government Implements 5-Hour Load-Shedding Nationwide”. The government has made a decision to limit furnace oil imports for electricity generation due to a shortage of US dollars. As a result, citizens may experience 3-5 hours of power outages during the peak summer period.
An official from the Energy Ministry informed a national daily that the country is currently dealing with a shortage of around 4,000MW in energy, resulting in power outages lasting 2-3 hours for consumers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday. During the meeting, it was decided to close commercial markets at 8 PM in order to conserve electricity in the upcoming fiscal year.
Currently, Pakistan can generate up to 44,000MW of electricity, but the actual consumption is only 21,500MW. In the past, customers have paid nearly Rs. 900 billion in capacity charges. However, in the upcoming year 2023-24, the tariff structure for capacity payments will increase, and customers will be charged Rs. 1,400 billion.
Line and recovery losses are increasing, causing additional losses as generation increases. The official stated that hydropower is currently operating below its maximum capacity of 9,400MW, while the average generation is around 4,000MW.
Water releases from Tarbela and Mangla’s main dams determine the availability of hydrogenation. However, the amount of water released differs across provinces. The ongoing construction at Tarbela has resulted in a loss of around 1,410MW of electricity for the national grid, as stated by an official.
Similarly, the Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Project is not functioning, causing a deficit of 969MW. Furthermore, due to difficulties in construction and variations in water levels across provinces, the Tarbela Dam is producing minimal electricity.
The power plants are currently running at around 13-64 percent of their maximum capacity. According to an official from the Energy Ministry, the Independent Power Projects have the ability to generate over 17,000MW, but they are currently producing only 7,700MW. This indicates that they are operating at 45 percent capacity due to the current shortage of funds.
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