The flow of Tarbela increases from 8,000 to 30,000 cusecs, while that of Mangla releases around 15,000 cusecs.
View of the Sukkur Dam, formerly known as Lloyd Dam, as floodwaters pass through, following monsoon rains and rising levels of the Indus River at Sukkur, Sindh province. Photo: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) has increased water releases from major reservoirs in response to growing provincial demand, leading to a significant increase in hydropower generation and improved electricity supply conditions, according to official statements released on Friday, according to a notification from IRSA.
According to ISRA, the discharge from Tarbela dam has been increased from 8,000 to 30,000 cusecs, while Mangla dam is currently releasing around 15,000 cusecs.
Water allocations for the provinces were also revised, with Sindh’s share increased from 35,000 to 50,000 cusecs and Punjab’s from 33,000 to 43,000 cusecs. Further increases in water discharges could follow in the coming days.
Water rejected by IRSA
Increased water flows are expected to support power generation, with hydropower generation improving alongside a decline in demand due to better weather conditions.
As a result, the country’s electricity deficit fell to around 3,000 megawatts.
Hydroelectric production reached 3,400 megawatts, while thermal power plants produce around 8,000 megawatts. Solar energy contributes 350 megawatts, nuclear power plants generate up to 2,880 megawatts, wind energy 1,300 megawatts and biogas 80 megawatts.
Total electricity production amounts to 16,010 megawatts for a demand of 19,000 megawatts.
Load shedding has reportedly been reduced to zero in some parts of Islamabad.
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Increased water releases from dams have led to an increase in hydroelectric production at night. A total of 30,000 cusecs of water was released from the dams last night, compared to 8,000 cusecs in the intervening night of April 15-16, a power division spokesperson said.
Due to increased water flows, hydroelectric generation increased by 2,300 megawatts. Previously, hydroelectric production stood at 1,800 megawatts, which increased to 4,100 megawatts following increased water discharge. The increase in hydropower also helped facilitate the transfer of 400 megawatts from the southern region, as improved production reduced stability problems in the central grid, he added.
The spokesperson said increased demand for water from the agricultural sector could further boost hydropower production. Charge management time dropped from six hours to between 2.5 and 3 hours last night.
They added that timely availability of LNG and increased hydropower generation would help resolve the temporary load management problem, he added.
Yesterday the Minister of Energy arrived Leghari admitted pressure on the system, saying the country was facing a deficit of more than 3,400 MW due to reduced hydropower generation and constraints on imported fuel supplies.
He attributed the pressure to fluctuating demand due to changing weather conditions, lower water releases for irrigation and the impact of regional tensions on LNG cargoes, which reduced output from gas-fired plants. The situation could improve with higher water supplies and better fuel availability, but the persistence of outages suggests that structural challenges continue to compromise supply stability.
