.png)
1 week ago
3
ARTICLE AD BOX
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2026) Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division) Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari on Thursday said that a significant decline in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) based and hydel power generation, triggered by the prevailing situation in the Gulf region, had led to a shortfall of around 3,400 megawatts, resulting in load management during peak hours.
Addressing a press conference here, the minister said he wanted to present the complete situation before the public with full transparency and acknowledged the inconvenience caused during night and peak hours, offering an apology to consumers.
He said electricity demand during April had shown sharp fluctuations, ranging from a low of around 9,000 megawatts to as high as 20,000 megawatts on April 15, reflecting a rapid surge within a short span of time.
Comparing the situation with last year, he said that in April 2025, around 3,200 megawatts of electricity was generated from hydel sources and 3,000 megawatts from LNG, while furnace oil-based generation remained minimal due to its high cost.
However, he noted that this year, due to disruptions linked to the Gulf situation, gas supply to most LNG-based power plants had been suspended. Out of a total LNG-based generation capacity of around 6,000 megawatts, only about 500 megawatts was currently being produced, that too using alternative fuel.
The minister said hydel generation had also declined to around 1,600 megawatts this April, further widening the gap between demand and supply.
The minister said that the decline in hydel generation to lower water releases from major reservoirs such as Tarbela, as provinces were currently demanding less water due to weather conditions and ongoing crop harvesting. He said water could not be released solely for electricity generation as it was primarily reserved for agricultural needs.
He maintained that if LNG supply and hydel generation were available at normal levels, the country would have been able to bridge the gap, given the sufficient installed capacity of LNG-based plants.
To mitigate the shortage, he said furnace oil-based plants were being operated at full capacity; however, the system was still facing a deficit of approximately 3,400 megawatts.
He explained that for every 500 to 600 megawatts of shortfall, around one hour of load management was required, adding that the current deficit had necessitated load shedding of six to seven hours.
Leghari said the government was making all-out efforts to arrange fuel supplies and enhance electricity generation, while ensuring uniform load management across urban and rural areas.
He clarified that no load shedding was being carried out during daytime, as demand remained lower and generation was sufficient, whereas load management was primarily implemented during night peak hours.
He said the government ensured a fair distribution of load shedding across urban and rural areas and had recently extended outages to industrial sectors as well after domestic consumers started facing longer interruptions.
Leghari added that some southern regions, including areas served by HESCO and K-Electric, were not facing additional load shedding due to relatively better power availability.
Highlighting reforms, he said the government had undertaken significant measures in the past two years to stabilize the power sector, reduce electricity costs and improve efficiency, resulting in a 3.8 percent increase in demand.
The minister appealed for judicious use of electricity, particularly during peak hours, terming the situation as an emergency arising from international developments.
He added that Pakistan was better positioned to handle the crisis due to diversification of its energy mix, including coal, wind, solar and nuclear power projects, which had strengthened the resilience of the power sector.
The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to exploring all possible avenues to enhance power generation and minimize inconvenience to consumers.
English (US) ·