ISLAMABAD - There might not be any let up in power outages in the country as even with the start of winter season as the country is facing a power shortfall of 2200 megawatts that might increase in different times and the masses should not hope for the 24-hour smooth power supply in near future.
Power shortfall had decreased previous days but that was only for few days and it is again on the rise. There are different reasons behind this power shortfall including the power generation capacity issue. Especially in the winter season there is another major reason behind increasing power shortfall that is decrease in hydel power generation.
It is pertinent to mention here that the dams in Pakistan are primarily supposed to serve the agricultural needs of the country. In winter the provinces need lesser water so the water release from the dams decreased thus decreasing the power generation through hydel resources.
Mostly the country has to rely on IPPs and its public sector thermal power plants to cater the energy needs in the country. In other terms during the winter season, the country has to rely on the most expensive energy resources. Presently due to this factor of decrease in power generation, the load shedding duration across the country has increased.
Power generation stands at 11,000 megawatt at present against its demand of 13,200 megawatt. There are 4-5 hours power outages in urban areas and 7-8 hours outages in rural areas at present.