President Asif Ali Zardari orders maximum efforts to reduce nationwide load shedding

As part of his directives for minimizing loadshedding, President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday called upon all possible measures to be taken in this regard across the country, according to an official statement from the Presidency Secretariat.

The president gave the directive when he was holding a discussion on management of water resources at Aiwan-e-Sadr, according to the statement. He also referred to the problems of electricity shortages in connection with the current regional situation, it added.

According to the presidency secretariat’s official statement, “the president emphasized that any load management shall be done strictly in accordance with public declarations so that citizens are fully aware and there is minimum disruption.”

This comes amidst the decision by the federal government to impose two hours of daily loadshedding during peak hours to avoid further increase in electricity tariff rates.

The recent decision by the government is associated with the suspension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Qatar due to the force majeure announced by Qatar over the attacks on its gas field owing to US and Israel’s war against Iran.

The Power Division said it was capable of meeting full demand but this had negative consequences.

“The main challenge at present is during peak hours from 5pm to 1am. During this time, demand increases significantly, mainly due to reduced hydel generation. Relying on expensive fuels to meet this demand could lead to a substantial increase in electricity prices,” it said.