According to Pepco sources, hydel power generation dipped to 3,200 MW against Friday's 6,400 MW, which aggravated the power supply position and up to 14 hours outages in the cities.
To add salt to Pepco's miseries Chashma nuclear plant also developed technical problems which further reduced the power supply by 700 MW. It may be added that Indus River System Authority has stopped extra water releases from the dams to generate maximum hydel electricity from Tarbela, Mangla, Ghazi Barotha power houses to make up the thermal power shortfall.
Irsa is now discharging only run of the river water from the dams for hydel power generation which decreased hydel power contribution to the national grid energy mix by 2,500 MW on Sunday. The country is facing 50 percent shortage of its electricity needs as the power generation has fallen to level of 9,000 MW against the demand of 17,000 plus in early October.
People held violent protests in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Multan and other industrial and commercial cities of Punjab against the prolonged power outages and rise in prices of petroleum products. Citizens of Lahore who are already scared of dengue fever of epidemic proportions, had to spend several sleepless hours in the open during the night due to four to six hours unscheduled load shedding.
A Lesco spokesman told Business Recorder that Lahore Electric Supply Co was facing shortage of 1,264 MW electricity against the demand of 3,800 MW which is being met by 7 hours outages in the city and 12 hours load shedding in the rural areas. In addition to this, the National Grid Station in Islamabad also directly shuts off the Lahore grid stations, he added.
However, a Pepco spokesman claimed that power situation would improve on Monday as 1,000 MW electricity would be added to the national grid after payment of Rs 5 billion to PSO, which supplies furnace oil to the utility's thermal power houses. He claimed that the federal government has also managed to pay some outstanding dues to the IPPs which had threatened to shut down their power houses.
Energy sector experts say that the IPPs have the production capacity of more than 7,000 MW but at present had been supplying only 4,600 MW electricity due to circular debt and non-payment of their dues problems with Pepco. This was the major cause of the energy crisis in the country, they added.
However, some experts expressed the view that when Pepco was selling electricity to the industrial, commercial and domestic consumers at such exorbitant rates, why did it accumulate such huge liabilities to the tune of Rs 131 billion. They demanded of the government to audit the Pepco's accounts and expose the corrupt elements.