If you are facing long power cuts today, there is a reason why. Power Minister Awais Leghari has admitted that load-shedding has reached six to seven hours a day in many areas.
The Minister held a news conference on Thursday to explain why the government could not keep its promise of shorter outages. He said three main things happened at once:
- Middle East Crisis: Problems in the Middle East have stopped ships from bringing gas (LNG) to Pakistan.
- Low Water: There is less water available in the dams, so we cannot make enough cheap electricity.
- High Demand: More people are using electricity than expected this week.
“Beyond Our Control”
Minister Leghari said these problems were not the government’s fault but promised they are trying their best to fix the situation. He also mentioned that the government is trying to avoid raising electricity prices, even though they have to use expensive fuel to keep some plants running. For now, citizens should prepare for continued “load management” until gas supplies improve.