Pakistan is once again facing tough times with electricity as load shedding continues across the country. The power shortfall has now reached 4,820 megawatts, leaving many homes, shops, and factories without electricity for long hours.
Right now, the total demand for electricity stands at about 22,000 megawatts. But the country is only able to produce 17,180 megawatts. This big gap means power companies have no choice but to cut supply in turns.
Here is how the power is being generated by source:
| Source | Power Generation (MW) |
|---|---|
| Hydropower | 4,500 |
| Thermal (Gas/Coal/Oil) | 7,900 |
| Nuclear | 2,880 |
| Wind | 1,380 |
| Solar | 420 |
| Bagasse | 100 |
Because of this ongoing shortage, people in many areas are facing up to 8 hours of load shedding every day. In some places, especially villages, the outages feel even longer. The problem gets worse during peak evening hours.
This situation arises as temperatures in April are increasing, pushing demand higher. Earlier this month, the shortfall had touched around 6,500 MW in some reports, but it has improved slightly with better water levels in dams at times. Still, fuel shortages, especially for gas-based plants, and lower hydropower in certain periods continue to create problems.
The government has been trying to manage the crisis by planning outages mainly during night peak hours to avoid the very costly fuels that would raise bills even more. Many families are now relying on solar panels, which allow them to afford electricity.
