Leghari announces end to electricity load shedding

ISLAMABAD:Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari announced that load management has ended after LNG supplies arrived, restoring electricity nationwide following weeks of outages caused by gas shortages, while assuring consumers that costly power generation was avoided.

Speaking on the recent power situation, the minister stated that Pakistan has successfully overcome load shedding after the arrival of LNG gas, which had been delayed earlier, triggering electricity shortages across the country.

He revealed that consumers faced load shedding around 13 to 14 days ago, with outages peaking at five hours on April 13 and 14. However, the situation improved significantly afterward, with no load management observed on April 17, 18, and 19. From April 19 to April 29, load shedding was gradually reduced to between two to two-and-a-half hours.

The minister recalled that the government had already clarified its position in a press conference held 15 days ago, emphasizing that the power crisis was not due to any systemic failure, inefficiency, or lack of generation capacity.

He attributed the shortages primarily to a lack of gas supply, stating that LNG shipments were disrupted due to regional tensions, which hindered timely availability. He stressed that generating electricity through diesel or furnace oil could have eliminated load shedding entirely but would have significantly increased electricity costs for consumers.

To manage the crisis, the government had to procure expensive gas in the absence of Qatari LNG supplies and also operated furnace oil-based plants as a last resort.

The minister highlighted a significant recovery in hydropower generation, which has now reached 6,000 megawatts, compared to just 1,000 megawatts earlier. He noted that water releases from dams depend on IRSA requirements and provincial needs.

Addressing misconceptions, he rejected claims that Pakistan’s electricity generation capacity stands at 46,000 megawatts, clarifying that actual production is around 32,000 megawatts and varies throughout the year.

He expressed optimism that, like in the past during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif when load shedding was eliminated, the current situation would remain stable.

Concluding, he assured that timely government interventions have stabilized the situation and vowed that every effort would be made to protect consumers from expensive electricity while preventing future load shedding.