MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN

ISLAMABAD: The country will continue to face unscheduled massive power load-shedding till Monday due to shortage of RLNG, insufficient water releases from reservoirs and other constraints.

Well-informed sources told Business Recorder that on Thursday shortfall was recorded at 7000MW as demand stood at 28,500MW whereas generation stood at 21,500MW.

The sources said the system cannot transmit more than 25000 MW of electricity, and constraints in the distribution system are over and above transmission capacity.

Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar, in a tweet said that due to dry docking of one RLNG terminal and low water flows in Tarbela dam, some power plants are not operating at full capacity, which has led to load shedding on some feeders.

Azhar further stated that dry docking procedure will be completed on Monday and water levels in Tarbela are improving.

“Power generation will improve by Monday as RLNG supply is restored. We also expect Tarbela Dam, currently operating at only 25 per cent capacity, to start generating more power by next week and normalize the situation,” he added.

In another tweet, Energy Minister said that growth in circular debt has been reduced from 538 billion in 2019-10 to Rs 360 billion in 2020-21 indicating a decline of Rs 177 billion.