Senate Committee Raises Concerns About Loadshedding During Ramadan

The Senate Standing Committee on Power’s meeting was held on Tuesday and raised its concerns regarding the power crisis that has engulfed the urban and rural areas of Pakistan during Ramadan.

The Committee meeting was chaired by Senator Fida Muhammad and attended by Senator Ahmed Khan, Senator Muhammad Akram, Senator Moula Bux Chandio, Senator Siraj ul Haq and senior officers of the Ministry of Power Division.

Musadiq A. Khan, Joint Secretary Power Division briefed the Committee on the state of the Energy Sector in Pakistan especially in terms of the ensuing power crisis during the holy month. He also provided details of the total number of feeders and load-shedding duration in Pakistan.

Affirming that government’s policy precisely states that there shall be no load-shedding during Sehar and Iftar timings, he was of the view that outdated modes of electricity transmission are a major cause for power breakdowns, which was beyond the control of the energy sector.

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Khan claimed that power generation due to CPEC power projects is more than sufficient with a surplus of 2400 KV. However, issues arise with DISCOs (Power distribution companies) that are helpless due to lack of infrastructure. He termed public-private partnerships imperative to any progress within the sector and asserted that unless measures were taken to upgrade transmission units and systems there was no possibility of respite to consumers.

Senator Moula Bux Chandio shared his concerns regarding the installation of transformers in different areas of Interior Sindh.  He was of the view that people are forced pay exorbitant rates for this device which is unacceptable.

Asserting that Pakistan is an agrarian economy, Senator Ahmed Khan was of the view that load-shedding has adversely affected agriculture in lower Balochistan that borders Iran and Afghanistan. He maintained that it was imperative that measures be taken so that the agricultural sector in this region could be revived.

The Chairman Committee recommended that load-shedding during Sehar and Iftar must be completely curbed. He also summoned CEO Lakhra Power Plant and CEO GENCO to brief the committee in the next meeting.