ISLAMABAD:
A significant increase in dam flows in mid-April boosted hydropower production, reducing, but not ending, load shedding across the country.
The Energy Division said Saturday that hydropower generation reached 6,000 megawatts during Friday evening’s peak hours, allowing authorities to limit load management despite an increase in electricity demand.
According to a spokesperson, increased water release from Tarbela dam during night time contributed to the increase in hydel production. He said the total installed hydropower capacity stood at around 11,500 megawatts, adding that improved production also strengthened the stability of the national grid.
The spokesperson further said that around 500 megawatts of electricity from the southern region has been channeled to the central grid, including an additional 100 megawatts facilitated by improved hydrogen production.
Despite higher demand, power distribution companies maintained load management within one to two hours during peak hours, with outages not exceeding two hours due to increased hydropower generation.
He clarified that economical load management on high-loss feeders was carried out as per policy and had no connection with peak hour load management.
The spokesperson added that power plants with a total capacity of 5,500 megawatts, running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), were currently not producing electricity due to global supply constraints.
He said the availability of LNG, along with further increases in water discharges, would help eliminate the overnight electricity deficit.
