Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari has announced that electricity load management ended immediately after LNG supplies were restored, assuring the public that proactive measures are being taken to prevent future load shedding.
In a video statement, the minister said the recent outages were temporary and caused by a gas shortage. He emphasised that the government acted responsibly in the situation, prioritising consumer relief and working to shield them from high electricity costs.
He emphasised that the load shedding was not caused by negligence, system failure, or a lack of electricity generation capacity. Instead, it resulted from the unavailability of gas needed for power generation, linked to disruptions caused by the Iran-US conflict.
Leghari added that timely steps have been taken to improve the system, including a significant increase in hydroelectric power generation. He noted that water releases from dams are necessary and depend on coordination with the provinces.
Providing details, he said that on April 13 and 14, load management lasted for five hours. There was no load management on April 17, 18, and 19. From April 19 to 29, it was limited to two to two and a half hours.
He reiterated that load management was not due to negligence or insufficient production capacity, and that it ended once gas supplies were restored.
It is worth mentioning here that Federal Minister Awais Leghari had earlier taken strict notice of power distribution companies purchasing electricity in violation of the merit order and has ordered an immediate inquiry into the matter.
The minister clarified that electricity procurement will be carried out strictly in accordance with NEPRA rules and the prescribed merit order. According to the Power Division, the Federal Minister has directed all power distribution companies to ensure full compliance with the merit order in every case.
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