Shortfall crosses 4,000MW mark

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Power shortfall has crossed 4,000MW to 4,141MW during the last 24 hours, with an increase in demand to 16310MW against generation of 12,169MW.

The Energy Management Cell sources said increase in power shortfall is due to short supply of fuel and closure of few power plants due to maintenance.

It may be noted that President Asif Ali Zardari has conceded that the PPP-led coalition government could not come up to its expectation on the debilitating energy crisis. In an informal chat with a leading international broadcaster, the president said that he would have to supervise efforts to at least bring down the frequency and duration of power outages, if not end the crisis. According to him, some 3,500 megawatt electricity was added to the national grid during the four-and-a-half year rule of the PPP but the power crisis could not be overcome. Further, he also endorsed the impression that the PPP government has failed to check rising inflation in the country. He, however, blamed it on increasing oil prices in the international market and the global financial crisis.

Industry circles are crying for electricity amidst fears of no gas in the oncoming winter. Especially those in Punjab have started releasing half-page advertisements in newspapers, urging the government to look into ways to declare the industry exempt from load shedding. Also, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) leadership has agreed with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to increase the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess to Rs50/MMBTU from Rs13/MMBTU to facilitate the import of gas as well as LNG from across the Middle East.

The latest trade concession on 75 industrial items from the European Union has also given rise to the need for energy to avail the opportunity. There is a general consensus among industry circles that this opportunity may go untapped in case the government failed to provide uninterrupted energy supply to the industry 24/7.

The government, on the other hand, is stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, President Zardari has given the green signal for election preparations to party members on his recent visit to Lahore. He is also due to kick-start the election campaign by addressing a public rally in Mandi Bahauddin in the future. The voters and supporters of the PPP would definitely raise objections to the 12 to 20 hours load shedding in the urban and rural areas during the process.

Therefore, the government would have to appease the domestic consumers despite making rosy promises to the industry for uninterrupted energy supply in future.