The power shortfall surged to 5500MW on Monday due to disputes on payments between Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO), according to sources. Due to the power shortfall 10 hours loadshedding is being carried out in urban while 18 hours in rural areas.
The sources further said that the Federal Finance Ministry had issued Rs 6 billion to the PSO to help improve the situation but all in vein. Meanwhile, adversity kept on haunting the textile industry, as not only power but gas scarcity resulted in closure of hundreds of textile units. Textile millers said that the industry had lost over 30% production capacity due to energy crisis, translating into over a billion dollar exports loss.