Double blow as heat, power cuts continue
Islamabad and Rawalpindi residents grapple with intense load shedding
The scorching heat accompanied by massive, unscheduled power outages, lasting between eight and 18 hours, across Pakistan have made the lives of residents miserable.
With temperatures touching 46 degrees Celsius in the southern parts of the country, Pakistan’s urban areas are facing load shedding of eight-10 hours whereas rural areas suffer 12-18 hours of outages.
In some areas, the power goes out after every hour, badly affecting daily life.
Water shortages
Residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are facing intense load shedding.
The electricity breakdown had also led crippling shortages of water as many people cannot use their electric pumps. This has triggered protests in different parts of the country.
“We pay electricity bills regularly but [the] government is not providing us light when we needed it in summer season. How can we survive in this situation?” said resident Sajid Mahmoud.
Some angry protesters demanded that the government should accept its failure in Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Mohammad Asif yesterday said the current power crisis would end by the first week of May after power plants closed for maintenance start producing electricity.
The minister said an unexpected power crisis had emerged during the past few days due to a heat wave and the closure of some plants for maintenance.
“However, when the plants closed for maintenance go operational, this temporary shortfall shall be recovered and there will be no forced or unscheduled load shedding. But, the scheduled load shedding shall continue,” he said. providing interrupted power supply in summer and gas in winters.
The government has confessed it failed to curtail power outages ahead of the summer season, which has caused unprecedented load shedding.
During a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy on April 18, when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inquired about the worsening situation, ministry officials replied that searing temperatures resulted in an increase in power’s demand while the required amount of water was not available in the dams, and that stalled power generation.