The domestic power supply shortage touched 4,200-megawatt mark, an official of the Water and Power Ministry said on Friday. According to him, power sector managers had again been compelled to start power outages lasting between eight and 10 hours in cities and 12-16 hours electricity cuts in rural areas, adding that currently, total domestic generation was 12,200MW against demand of 16,400MW.
He said that after recent rains, the electricity demand-supply gap had been reduced to 2,100MW, but electricity demand had again surged after rains stopped in most areas. The official also said that the Petroleum Ministry had been unable to implement the directive of the federal cabinet to provide 207 Million Cubic Feet (MMCFD) per day gas to the power sector. "At present, the power sector is receiving just 100 MMCFD gas, instead of 207 MMCFD," the official said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan State Oil's (PSO) financial crisis because of the intractable circular dent was worsening and its outstanding dues against the power sector surged to Rs 233 billion, bringing the national fuel supply company on the verge of a default. PSO urgently needed an injection of Rs 50 billion, which the oil firm needed to pay local as well as international clients, the official added. The federal cabinet had recently decided that PSO would supply 28,000 tons of oil daily to add 1,200MW to the national grid, which was implemented for a while. However, as PSO was not getting funds to open LCs for further imports, the cabinet decision simply could not be implemented.
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