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| | GEO Pakistan | | Load-shedding to end by Dec this year | Updated at: 2201 PST, Friday, January 02, 2009
 ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman said on Friday that the government was taking multiple steps to overcome power load-shedding.
Addressing a joint press conference along with Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf here, she said that a high level meting chaired by President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani finalized emergent, medium-term and long-term steps to get rid of load-shedding as early as possible.
The meeting was attended by Sherry Rehman, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin, Advisor to PM on Petroleum Dr. Asim Hussain and representatives of WAPDA and public sector corporations related to oil and gas, IRSA and KESC.
Raja Pervez Ashraf said the load-shedding will end by December this year.
The Information Minister said that during the meeting it was also decided to end load shedding of natural gas for domestic consumers.
The government had started work on power generation on war-footing and by June 2000 megawatt electricity would be added to the national grid system, she added.
She said that during the meeting, the President advised the government to convene regular meetings to work out a long term solution to the problem.
The President said that special meeting on energy to be convened this week should also address the issue of circular debt in the power sector and recommend ways to address it.
The President advised the government to devise a workable plan for addressing the issue of circular debt and huge amounts owed to private power producers by June this year.
She said that shortfall of 4500 MW had been caused by decrease in the water flow and slump in oil and gas supplies needed for thermal generation, forcing loadshedding in the country.
The water inflow was at a historic low as it was 36% less than the flow during the corresponding period last year causing a huge drop in hydro generation, she said. The decrease in fuel supplies had caused a shortfall of 2700 MW of power in the country, she said.
The Minister said that in January last year there was a shortfall of 3600 MW of power which had now aggravated to 4500 MW.
It also decided to provide 50 million metric cubic feet of additional gas and 8000 tons of fuel oil to KESC to increase its power generation capacity. This will lift the burden from WAPDA which will thus be able to inject several hundred megawatt in the national grid supplies to KESC.
It was decided that a sum of Rs. 7.5 billion be immediately released for partially meeting the fuel cost for power generation, she added.
Sherry Rehman said that these measures will result in an immediate improvement in the power supply situation. |  |
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