Pakistan suffers nationwide power outage amid heavy rains

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amid the heavy monsoon rains splashing over the different regions of Pakistan, nationwide power outages have averaged around 10 to 12 hours a day on Friday, according to The Express Tribune.

Sources have confirmed that the electricity shortfall had hit 6,705 MW.

According to Power Division sources, the total production of electricity in the country was 20,795 MW while the demand has hit 27,500 MW.

Moreover, unannounced outages are happening in some regions due to technical faults with the most rampant load-shedding being reported in areas prone to power theft.

However, the residents of Lahore faced difficult circumstances after the installation of Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) and suffered severe damage due to heavy monsoon rain in the five districts falling in its region on Wednesday.

LESCO sources said that several electric poles collapsed and transformers were extensively damaged. The falling trees and poles caused a 12-hour power outage which led to severe difficulties for more than six million consumers.

Adding to that, three people, including a woman, lost their lives due to electric shocks, The Express Tribune reported.

At present, 7,349MW of electricity is being generated through hydropower plants, 639MW through government thermal power plants, 9,048MW through private power plants, 534MW through wind power plants and 123MW through solar plants, reported The Express Tribune.

Similarly, nuclear power plants are producing 2,988MW of electricity.

In June, the electricity shortfall had jumped slightly above 6,500MW and displayed a spike of nearly 200MW in two weeks. Furthermore, this shortage has led to load-shedding being ramped up to 10 to 12 hours from the earlier average of eight to ten hours.

However, prolonged load-shedding across the country has continued to make the lives of the people miserable with sources in the Power Division saying that it is being carried out in only those areas where there are high losses and electricity theft is rampant.

Residents of most of the cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, registered complaints with distribution companies that they were facing up to 20-hour power cuts.

Residents from most of the areas of Karachi further complained that they were suffering from three-hour load shedding as many times a day, as per The Express Tribune.

The majority of these complaints were regarding children getting sick without electricity amid sweltering temperatures.

Most of them said that they were already struggling to make ends meet under the skyrocketing inflation, and it was difficult for them to take their children to the doctors.

Furthermore, patients and staff members at Rawalpindi’s district headquarters hospital have also suffered enormous difficulties due to a prolonged power outage in the sweltering summer, reported The Express Tribune.

Adding to the distress faced by the people, the X-ray and other laboratory equipment stopped functioning in the hospital along with the fans in the wards. (ANI)