Lahore [Pakistan], October 6 Pakistan’s electricity crisis has intensified, with the country’s overall power deficit reportedly surpassing 4,000 megawatts as several generation units remain offline and hydropower production declines, as reported by ARY News.
According to ARY News, sources stated that the worsening shortfall has forced power distribution companies (DISCOs) to increase load-shedding across the country. Consumers in both urban and rural areas are reportedly facing three to four hours of power cuts, with the duration of outages increasing suddenly in several areas.
The situation is particularly difficult in Lahore, where electricity demand has reportedly climbed to around 4,000 megawatts, against an available supply of approximately 3,000 megawatts. This has created a significant gap between demand and supply, adding to pressure on the already strained power distribution system. The latest deterioration has also raised questions over repeated government claims that Pakistan’s electricity shortages had been brought under control.
The sources said the promised improvement has failed to materialise as the supply deficit continues to widen. Lahore is also reportedly experiencing a shortage of diesel following disruptions in gas availability, further complicating the city’s energy situation, sources said.
Meanwhile, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has taken action against K-Electric (KE) over its practice of carrying out load-shedding on feeders based on aggregate technical and commercial (ATC) losses.
NEPRA has declared such load-shedding illegal and directed K-Electric to immediately stop unannounced power outages carried out on the basis of feeder losses. The regulator maintained that consumers who regularly pay their electricity bills should not have their supply suspended simply because they are connected to feeders with high losses, as cited by ARY News.
NEPRA stressed that paying consumers should not be penalised for electricity theft or other failures by other users. The authority instructed K-Electric to take targeted action against individual consumers involved in electricity theft rather than cutting power to entire feeders, as reported by ARY News.