Power supply improves as two units resume operation, says minister

Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood on Monday said two power generation units resumed operation reducing the country's power deficit and easing load-shedding, reports UNB.

Speaking in Parliament, the minister said two power generation units had gone offline, forcing the government to impose load-shedding on Sunday.

"Two of our power generation units had shut down, which is why we had to resort to load-shedding yesterday," he said. The minister said the situation has improved significantly.

"By the grace of Allah, I am pleased to inform the House and the people that our current power generation stands at 14,500 megawatts, while demand is now 14,839 megawatts," he said.

He said the current shortfall has been reduced to 339MW, resulting in limited load-shedding in some areas.

"The load-shedding will now be 339 megawatts. We are trying to reduce even this 300MW-plus deficit. There will still be load-shedding in some places but we are making every effort to eliminate it," the minister said.

Referring to Sunday's power situation, Mahmood said the supply was under considerable pressure but has since improved.