Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) has added 2,000MW additional electricity to its national grid system by taking special measures in a couple of days to ease alarming load shedding in the country.
Pepco has increased its Hydel power production from 3000MW to 3931MW on Wednesday as Indus River System Authority (Irsa) discharged 5,000 cusecs more water downstream the Tarbela dam from 40,000 cusecs to 45,000 cusecs to enhance electricity generation from the Tarbela dam Hydel units which have the installed capacity to produce 3400MW electricity during the peak monsoon season.
Besides after adequate supply of furnace oil, Independent Power Producers have also increased their output by about 700MW electricity from 5562MW to 6236MW. Similarly Pepco's own thermal houses have also increased their production from 1500MW to 1800MW.
Giving details of Wednesday's power position a Pepco spokesman said that its Hydel, thermal, IPPs and RPPs units produced 12,054MW electricity against the demand of 16,049 bringing down the shortfall from Sunday's 6,000MW to 3995MW. Pepco supplied 720MW electricity to KESC. He said Hydel power generating units produced 3931MW, thermal units 1825MW, IPPs 6236MW and RPPs 62MW electricity.
Meanwhile Meteorological department has forecast mainly hot and dry weather over most parts of the country on today (Thursday). However isolated thunderstorm/rain is expected over south western Balochistan. Met Office has further predicted that heat wave conditions gripping the plain areas of the country including Islamabad and likely to continue in most parts of the country up till Thursday (today) The day temperatures in plain areas of the country are 6 to 8 degrees above the normal values of maximum temperatures.
The increased temperatures in upper parts have increased the snow melting process thus increasing the inflows of major water reservoirs/rivers, it added. Due to melting of snows in hot weather in the upper regions of the country the water inflows in the four live rivers have started increasing Inflow in River Indus at Tarbela is 43,400 cusecs, in river Nowshera at Kabul is 37,900 cusecs, in river Jhelum at Mangla 67,200 cusecs and river Chenab at Marala 34,200 cusecs.