By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Severe electricity shortage in Pakistan to the tune of 2,000 MW to 3,500 MW has forced several industries to lower production while some have been asked to suspend work for 15 days, a top official said.
Authorities have also asked commercial establishments to down shutters earlier to conserve power, an official of the Ministry of Water and Power told IANS.
Pakistan’s total electricity production is 17,500 MW against a demand estimated at 25,000 MW.
This huge shortage has created a crisis in business, which is already trying to overcome losses due to the three-day shut down in the aftermath of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s Dec 27 assassination.
Industry has blames the government for the shortage.
“We are forced to shut down our industry and are facing loss of billions of rupees,” says Imran Shafi, general secretary of cottage industry in Sialkot, known for sports goods manufacturing.
He said they had big orders but now face a crisis. “There were a week-long Eid holidays till Dec 25 but unfortunately after Bhutto’s killing we had to close the industry for three days. And now, the power crisis has started… we are facing billions of rupees loss in turnover,” Shafi told IANS.
According to preliminary estimates collected by the country’s statistics division, Pakistan’s economy has already suffered a loss of about 455 billion Pakistani rupees ($7.3 billion) during the shutdown in the wake of Bhutto’s assassination.
Caretaker Minister for Water and Power Tariq Hamid says the country had a shortage of 1,850 MW on Jan 1, in addition to an estimated 2,200 MW shortfall following sabotage and disruption of fuel supply to thermal power plants.
However, he told media persons Monday that measures have been put in place to rectify the problems and 1,550 MW of the recent shortfall has been made up so far, while the remaining shortfall of 300 MW would be taken care of by Saturday.
The minister said the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had scheduled power cuts of half hour every four hours, keeping in view the 2,200 MW shortage.
He also said WAPDA had to suffer another 900 MW supply shortage from the Hubco power plant as its three towers of 500 KV each were blown up by miscreants in Balochistan on Jan 1.
Another blow to the power authority was the 600 MW reduction in generation as furnace oil supply was delayed to the Hubco plant due to Eid holidays and riots after Bhutto’s assassination.
The authority also lost another 350 MW from rental power plants at Faisalabad and Lahore due to gas shortage.
Citizens are facing difficulties as prices of emergency lights and candles have gone up. A report in Dawn newspaper said markets in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have run short of candles with the chilly weather and rain adding to peoples’ miseries.