Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) sources said on Friday that the Mangla Dam powerhouse would not be operational at full capacity of 1100 MW before July 25. It may be noted that a sudden electricity shortage took place early this month due to an accidental technical fault at Mangla Dam. The Pepco authorities, the sources said, were trying to overcome the problem, but they could restore only 200MW after about 10 days.
Meanwhile, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), in a statement here, said that the Cabinet Committee on power crisis resolution had instructed the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to divert gas supply to the independent power producers (IPPs), which were already running on dual connections.
Fearing heavy production losses and unemployment, the industry sources said that early return of 1100MW would not be possible because of the non-availability of required cable, which was being imported from abroad. The sources said there was no clue about the arrival of cable in the country so far. The Pepco sources said that the technical staff had repaired two units' pair conductor.
However, these sources denied the fact that gas was diverted from textile industry to the IPPs, and suggested that the gas be disconnected due to maintenance issues. The Pepco sources further pointed out that the company was doing forced closure of 400 MW electricity, which was varying from time to time, because of the heavy load on the system.
When told that Labourites were facing severe loadshedding of the history, the Pepco sources said it was due to local constraints of Lahore Electricity Supply Company (Lesco). These sources said the Pepco was going to replace 160MBA transformer with 250MBA transformer in the area of Kot Lakhpat and power supply to adjacent areas would remain suspended for three days from Sunday.
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