ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Power Minister Awais Ahmad Leghari announced on Friday that electricity load-shedding has been eliminated, attributing this improvement to recent enhancements in power management and better supply conditions.
In a video statement, Leghari acknowledged that consumers had experienced “load management” in recent days, including outages lasting up to five hours on April 13 and 14. However, he emphasized that the situation has since stabilized significantly.
He noted that there were no power cuts on April 17, 18, and 19. Between April 19 and April 29, outages were reduced to approximately two to two-and-a-half hours before being further phased out.
Leghari reiterated the ministry’s stance presented at a press conference two weeks prior, asserting that the disruptions were not caused by a shortage of generation capacity or administrative lapses.
The minister explained that electricity generated from diesel and furnace oil plants is costly, while water releases from dams depend on decisions made by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) and provincial governments.
In a significant development, he highlighted that recent imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have enhanced the energy mix, with the government choosing to procure expensive fuel to maintain supply stability.
He also pointed out that hydropower generation has increased to 6,000 megawatts, a substantial rise from the previous level of around 1,000 megawatts, which has contributed to the improved availability of electricity.
Leghari concluded by stating, “From today, load-shedding has ended,” while cautioning against misinformation being spread by certain groups regarding the power situation.
