ISLAMABAD: As the country is facing shortfall of over 5000 MW due to rising temperature in the country, Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir has indicated increase in load shedding by one hour due to disruption in supply of RLNG owing to Cyclone Biparjoy. Presently the country is facing 6-12 hours load shedding depending on the areas divided on the basis of losses, rural and urban.

Addressing at a press conference on Wednesday, Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan said that there is no disruption in power supply due to cyclone despite series of strong winds in Thatta, Badin and other areas. There can be an emergency like situation from June 15 to 18, he added.

“We are now aware about the impact of cyclone. LNG terminals in Karachi are affected by the cyclone due to which RLNG supply to power plants is suspended whereas import of LNG is also on halt. Load shedding will increase by one hour.

Generation from Tarbela will be enhanced to bridge shortfall. If I get a flight, I will leave for Sindh this evening myself,” Minister of Energy Khan said adding that electricity can also to be severed. Electricity generation capacity in the country is up to 41,000 MW.

The minister argued that there is no indication of disruption in coal-fired power generation but there is a possibility of disturbance in transmission system, adding that if the wind speed exceeds 90 km per hour, then wind production will decrease.

Khan said that Power Division’s team including secretary Power, three other senior officers are being dispatched to Sindh to monitor the situation on the ground and take instant measures to restore electricity in case of disruption as the area to be affected by the storm is in Hesco jurisdiction.

“Teams of 2,000 personnel from other companies like Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, and Sukkur are being dispatched to deal with the cyclone impact,” he further stated.

The minister maintained that the impact due to non-availability of LNG will be a shortfall of 1500 megawatts but if indigenous gas is supplied to Karachi the impact will be minimized.

“Our effort is to minimize load shedding in hot weather. Efforts are also being made to ensure that there is no load shedding in urban areas for more than four hours in the summer. The government is trying to minimize the burden on the consumers,” he said.

The minister further stated that since most of the thermal plants produce expensive electricity, the effort is to go for alternative and cheaper system.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023