Pakistan’s electricity crisis has worsened, with the national power shortfall exceeding 4,000 megawatts, according to NTDC sources.
Several power plants have gone offline. Hydel generation has also declined. The combined impact has reduced electricity supply across the country.
Lahore Faces Major Supply Gap
Lahore is among the cities facing a significant power shortage. Electricity demand in the city has reached around 4,000MW, while supply stands at approximately 3,000MW.
The 1,000MW gap has resulted in increased loadshedding. Consumers in urban and rural areas are reportedly facing three to four hours of power cuts.
Sources said all distribution companies have suddenly increased the duration of loadshedding as the national shortfall continues.
Lahore is also facing a diesel shortage following reported gas supply problems. The latest developments have raised concerns over the government’s ability to overcome the power crisis.
NEPRA Orders Action Against K-Electric
Meanwhile, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has taken action against K-Electric over unannounced loadshedding.
The regulator declared loadshedding based on aggregate technical and commercial losses illegal. It directed K-Electric to immediately stop unannounced outages on feeders where consumers regularly pay their electricity bills.
NEPRA said paying consumers should not be punished for the failures of others. It ordered the company to adopt alternative measures against electricity theft.
The regulator also directed K-Electric to disconnect individual connections involved in power theft instead of suspending electricity supply to entire areas.
Regulator Demands Loss Reduction Plan
NEPRA noted that K-Electric had not changed its operational procedures despite previous penalties.
The regulator directed the company to install ABC cables to reduce technical and commercial losses. K-Electric was also ordered to prepare a detailed plan for implementing the measure.
