Gas suspension deepens power crisis

LAHORE-Country will face yet another energy crisis as several thermal power plants with a generating capacity of upto 1,200 megawatt electricity have either halted their production or reduced their generation capacity, following the suspension of gas supply to them, it is learnt.

The officials in the Pakistan Electric Power Company informed The Nation that in the aftermath of thermal plants closure due to gas supply suspension, the Pepco authorities have asked the distribution companies to prepare new schedule of loadshedding duration in big as well as small cities and towns, including rural areas, which will be from 6 to 8 hours.

The water release from Tarbela and Mangla has also been reduced to around 60,000 cusecs from 1,40,000 cusecs, leading to the scarcity of electricity over 3,000 megawatt from hydel generation side, they added.

They said that at present, the total power production capacity in the country was about 10,000 MW out of which a rental plant at Sheikhupura with capacity of 285 MW and GTPS in Faisalabad with capacity of 170 MW had halted their production after being disconnected from gas supply from the SNGPL.

Although gas is to be provided to various thermal power plants for generation of 5,800 MW electricity, but in actual fact much less gas is usually being made available and that shortage is often overcome through furnace oil supply.

About 400MW extra burden of electricity has been put by SNGPL on WAPDA, which the industry of Punjab and NWFP was using currently.