MONDAY JUNE 18: Prolonged loadshedding in Punjab: power crisis getting worse and worse

ISLAMABAD: Taking serious notice of prolonged loadshedding in Punjab, President Asif Ali Zardari has directed Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain to take measures to solve the problem at the earliest. According to reports, the President has directed the Petroleum Ministry to ensure fuel supply to power generation companies that have stopped producing power due to the non-availability of oil and gas.
In his directives to Ministry of Petroleum, the President said the Ministry should ensure supply of fuel to the power companies to enable them increase generation of more electricity to minimise load-shedding.
According to the National Transmission & Dispatch Company (NTDC‚ Orient‚ Hubco‚ Saif‚ Lal Pir‚ Sapphire and other power plants have stopped producing power due to the non-availability of oil and gas.
As the electricity shortfall reached its peak on Sunday and the difference in the supply and demand of power hit 8‚500 MW, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has also summoned a meeting of ministers and officials concerned in Islamabad on Monday (today) to discuss energy crisis.
Various parts of Rawalpindi remained without electricity since the Sunday morning and many areas were facing severe water shortages due to the worst power outages. "We are facing 16 to 18 hours loadshedding causing severe problems in the sizzling heat," said Inamullah Chaudhry, a resident of Satellite Town, Rawalpindi.