Load-shedding – same old same old

Load-shedding has become a perpetual and expected part of the lives of generations in Pakistan.

Going back the last few months, the entire country has been subjected to unannounced electricity load shedding for hours on end. What has followed has been the usual flurry of words, promises, and other nothingness. 

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has ‘taken notice’ and warned that any power distribution company (DISCO) found to be involved in unscheduled power outages will face severe consequences. In a statement issued by NEPRA, it expressed grave concern about the country’s sudden onset of hours-long unannounced power cuts, saying that it had taken serious notice of unscheduled power outages across the country and asked electricity consumers to file detailed complaints with the concerned regional offices against the DISCO for carrying out unannounced power load-shedding.

This did not, however, stop Rawalpindi and Islamabad residents from facing 8 to 10 hours of power outages due to “scheduled maintenance work”. The repair work began in September 2021 and planned to be completed in March 2022. It’s April now and only recently was it revealed to the public that there is no electrical capacity constraint in the country, but that power producing units have been shut down owing to fuel shortages and technical difficulties. According to reports, 18 power plants with a total capacity of 3605 megawatts are now not producing energy owing to technical issues, while nine power plants with a total capacity of 3535 megawatts are shut down due to fuel shortages..

 

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Ahmad Ahmadani
Ahmad Ahmadani
The author is a an investigative journalist at Profit. He can be reached at [email protected].

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