The country is again in the grip of unusual power load-shedding in urban and rural areas with 6-8 and 12 hours outages due to gap of 3,500 MW between demand and supply.
Apparently, sudden rise in temperature and substantial reduction in hydel generation are the two main reasons for the current electricity load-shedding. However, Ministry of Water and Power is silent on this issue.
Some power sector experts are of the view that current tussle between the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Ministry of Water and Power is one of the reasons for the current power load shedding as IPPs are short of fuel but IPPs are denying this.
"We are committed to guarantee supply to the Central Power Purchase Agency Guaranteed (CCPA-G). However, if PSO does not supply fuel due to financial crunch then our generation will be below capacity," said one representative of IPPs. Presently, installed capacity is around 23,000 MW but the current generation is far less.
It is expected that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will take notice of the sudden increase in load-shedding and summon the officials of Water and Power to explain the reasons behind the current surge in outages.
No official of the Water and Power Ministry was ready to speak on the issue with this correspondent.