The country’s current power generation is about 18,500 MW and the demand for electricity has increased by 38 percent in April this year as compared to the previous year.
This was revealed before the Senate Standing Committee on Power, which met under the chairmanship of Chairman Committee Senator Saifullah Abro at Parliament Lodges on Wednesday.
Regarding the recent spike in loadshedding in the country, the committee chairman questioned the Secretary Power Division that we are being told that the country has surplus electricity production capacity, then what are the reasons for the current spike in loadshedding? Officials informed that Pakistan’s power generation capacity is about 38,000 MW But due to non-supply of fuel and RLNG, many power generation plants have been shut down.
The country’s current power generation is about 18,500 MW, officials said. The Additional Secretary Power further said that the demand for electricity increased by 38 percent in April this year as compared to the previous year. The committee chairman said that while procuring RLNG, care should be taken to deal with suppliers who do not default when there is a price hike. The chairman of the committee said that the amount of performance guarantee should be such that the supplier could not default.
The committee meeting also considered the issue raised by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan on the point of public importance regarding fuel price adjustment charges in electricity bills. Senator Mushtaq said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa generates more hydropower than it needs. The province is not even provided with the required share of electricity. He said the Peshawar High Court had ruled that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not be charged for fuel price adjustment but the department is still collecting the charges against the court ruling.
Senator Mushtaq said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa consumers should be given subsidy on electricity bills just like Gilgit-Baltistan. The Additional Secretary Power Division informed the committee that Gilgit-Baltistan was not connected to the national grid. He further said that after being connected to the national grid, all the provinces are billed at the same rate. Additional Secretary Power added that NEPRA should be approached in this regard.
The meeting was attended by Senators, Syed Shibli Faraz, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Fida Muhammad, Syed Sabir Shah, Zeeshan Khanzada, Bahramand Khan Tangi, Sana Jamali, and other senior officials of the concerned ministries and Discos.
