Power shortfall spikes to 5,500 megawatts

12-hour long power outages have darkened houses in rural areas as shortfall has hit 5,500 Mega Watt (MW) on Sunday around a week after Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif directed authorities to ensure uninterrupted supply in Ramazan. Reportedly, rural areas across the country are seeing 10 to 12 hours of power outages while urban areas of six to eight hours.
Sources reported that electricity production stands at 17,050 MW whereas demand has hit 22,200 MW. It should be added here that around 500 MW power is being lost out of line losses and other reasons and 16,550 MW is being distributed by the national grid. Dams are adding 5,250 MW to the national grid, government-run thermal power plants are generating at least 2,900 MW while IPPs are producing 8,900 MW.