End to load shedding not possible: Khurram

LAHORE/GUJRANWALA: Federal Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir has said complete elimination of load shedding is not possible but its intensity will reduce in the coming weeks. Talking to the media, he said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would decide about early closure of markets.

Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to face a serious electricity crisis as loadshedding has intensified even after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of it yesterday and ordered the authorities concerned to limit the duration of suspensions not more than two hours a day. 

According to the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), the country faces a shortfall of over 7,300MW, while power demand has increased to 27,300MW against supplies of 20,000MW. 

All provinces of the country, including Punjab, continue to face unannounced power outages, which have reached up to 8 to 14 hours daily. Frequent tripping is also badly affecting home appliances. Power distribution companies (DISCOs) have blamed the Energy Ministry for the outages.