LAHORE:
Punjab is experiencing prolonged and increasingly disruptive power outages, with rural areas reporting load shedding of up to 16 hours a day and urban centers facing recurring interruptions, according to residents and power distribution officials.
The situation has intensified in areas served by Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco), Faisalabad (Fesco) and Gujranwala (Gepco), as the gap between electricity demand and supply widens.
Consumers in several districts say outages are frequent, largely unannounced and increasingly prolonged, raising concerns about planning and transparency in the power sector.
“We can’t even sleep at night because of load shedding these days,” said Sharafat, a resident of Bahawalpur, who reported outages lasting between 12 and 16 hours a day. Similar complaints emerged from Bahawalnagar, Kasur, Sahiwal and other districts.
In Burewala, Zubair Ahmad said power cuts lasted six to eight hours a day. Residents of Faisalabad reported around four hours of outages in urban areas, while consumers in Lahore spoke of three to four hours of load shedding daily, with longer disruptions in neighboring rural belts.
Khaleeq, from rural Kasur, said outages in her area lasted five to eight hours. “No one from the power company tells us about the real situation,” he said.
Distribution company officials say the deficit increased sharply during peak hours. In the Lesco region, demand exceeded 3,100 megawatts for an allocation of around 2,300 MW, leaving a deficit of more than 800 MW in recent days.
A Lesco spokesperson acknowledged an increase in complaints, but dismissed claims of widespread load shedding in Lahore, attributing the outages to maintenance work and targeted shutdowns on high-loss feeders.
“In these areas, load shedding is seen as a policy measure to deter and control electricity theft,” the spokesperson said.
However, reports from urban and rural areas suggest that outages extend well beyond scheduled maintenance, with outages occurring hourly in some locations.
Energy analysts and industry observers have expressed broader concerns, saying Pakistan’s installed generation capacity should be sufficient to meet current demand. They wonder why extensive load management is applied despite this capacity.
Some analysts say that even in the absence of liquefied natural gas (LNG), outages of this duration should not be necessary, especially in urban centers.
“The system has sufficient installed capacity to meet baseload demand,” one analyst said, adding that recurring outages reflect operational or policy decisions more than an absolute shortage of production.
Oil division officials say gas supplies to power plants have been sharply reduced, with LNG cargoes not available until early May. As a result, gas-based production has declined, limiting the production of thermal power plants.
Currently, only a limited amount of local gas is diverted to the power sector, although authorities expect an improvement in supply in May.
Separately, the Energy Division cited reduced hydropower generation as a key factor in the deficit, saying lower water releases from dams have significantly reduced output during peak hours.
According to official estimates, the national electricity deficit has fluctuated between 4,500 and 6,500 MW in recent days, depending on the level of demand.
