Electricity shortfall reaches 6400 MW
Load shedding during Iftar, Sehar and Taraweeh timings is stressing out Ramazan observers.
LAHORE/KARACHI/ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – During the holy month of Ramazan, the Ministry of Water and Power has failed to keep up with the tall claims pertaining to ‘minimizing power cuts’. With the mercury upsurging towards 40 degrees Celsius, the ghost of unannounced and unremitting loadshedding continues to haunt Ramazan observers till the last ten days of Ramazan. The Ministry of Water and Power has completely failed in providing electricity during Iftar, Sehar and Taraweeh timings which simply adds more to the troubles of fast observers.
The power cuts, low voltage and tripping has become a normal routine. The urban areas continue to bear with load shedding between 6 to 8 hours a day whereas in rural areas it ranges from 12 to 14 hours.
According to NTDC, the electricity shortfall has reached 4600 MW all across the country. The demand for electricity is 18,920 MW as compared to the output which is fixed at 14,320 MW. Frequent prolonged and unannounced load shedding is hitting across the country, with the rise in temperature, disrupting routine life. Particularly in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the power outages have been striking really harsh, forcing fast observers to hold protests. In Lahore, the power cuts during Sehar, Iftar and Taraweeh timings are a common practice.
In thirteen districts of MEPCO region the demand for electricity is 3420 MW but the production is to 1900 MW as the shortfall has crossed 1520 MW. In the urban areas of southern Punjab, the power cuts remain 10 to 12 hours as compared to the 12 to 14 hours of load shedding in rural areas.
