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Friday March 29, 2024

Load management plan for Ramzan finalised for PM’s approval

By Khalid Mustafa
May 25, 2017

Industrial sector to face around nine hours of power outages to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply at Sehr and Iftar

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to expose the industrial sector to around nine hours of loadshedding to ensure the uninterrupted supply of electricity at Iftar and sehr times to masses across the country except consumers that fall in the jurisdiction of K Electric.  

Under the electricity load management programme for the holy month of Ramazan finalised by Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) with input from the Ministry of Water and Power, the government will resort to 8-9 hours loadshedding in the industrial sector to ensure power outages of 4-5 hours for domestic sector.  

The Pepco top sources say that the load management plan will be shared with the prime minister within a day or two for approval. Urban and rual areas will experience the same duration of load shedding of 4-5 hours.  Pepco officials vowed to start implementing the power outages plan from May 26. "We have earlier provided the electricity to industrial sector 24/7 with zero loadshedding, but in the holy month the industrial sector will be exposed to the poweroutages." However, they said, the prime minister will be having the final say in this regard. For those mix feeders' jurisdiction where in addition to residential consumers, some industrial units are also located, the loadshedding will be of 4-5 hours duration.

When asked if there is any plan to go for conservation of electricity during the holy month, they said that system has enough electricity supply which has touched over 17,500 MW the highest generation so far in the history of the country, so Pepco has not adopted the policy of conservation plan as it will enhance the problems of the masses during the holy month of Ramazan.

However, the electricity consumers living in the jurisdictions of high loss-making feeders will continue to face long durations of loadshedding, but the Pepco authorities have suggested 50 percent relief to the power consumers of loss-making feeders during Sehr and Iftar times.

The sources claim that there are some distribution companies which have not upgraded their transmission and distribution system to absorb their shares of electricity which is why the electricity consumers of KP, Interior Sindh and Balochistan may face more power outages. And this challenge has emerged as crucial issue for the federal government which is determined to rid the country of power outages.