Following hot and humid weather, electricity demand and shortfall soared to over 23,000MW and 5,000MW, respectively, forcing the power distribution companies to observe loadshedding for four to six hours in urban and eight to 12 hours in rural areas across the country. The domestic consumers are suffering during recent power breakdowns. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has reiterated the commitment that measures for eliminating load-shedding are on track and our focus is ensuring a bright future for Pakistan. While Chairing a meeting on energy sector in Islamabad, the prime minister said that a dedicated ministry for water resources was required to handle these issues and to cater for improved management of water resources, a separate ministry was essential. With regards to the creation of new Ministry of Energy, the prime minister said that it was necessary to remove firewalls between the Petroleum and Power Sectors which are otherwise linked for a common objective of energy security in Pakistan. The prime minister directed Power Division and Petroleum Division to formulate roadmap to reduce usage of thermal power sources and instead focus on natural gas and domestic coal for energy production.Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that our government is striving to achieve a balanced mix for the country’s energy requirements. He directed that maximum utilization of Thar coal reserves should be ensured to provide affordable energy for consumers. The prime minister also directed the Water Resource Division to work on planning for water storage projects on fast track. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz had promised with people of Pakistan during the last election campaign that it will resolve this crippling issue on urgent basis. The government has entered into the election year and few months are remaining for the completion of its tenure. The government has so far failed to resolve this issue and works on ongoing power projects is going on with very slow pace. The government should take steps to complete all ongoing projects on due time because government has very little time in his hand and if it is wasted then government will face dire consequences in upcoming general elections. Government should provide maximum relief to domestic power consumers and improve delivery of its service by ensuring maintenance work of power plants on time. Prime Minister should take notice on the complaints of unscheduled power loadshedding and direct the relevant authorities to fix the problem on fast track basis.
