15-18 Hour Power Outages In Small Pakistani Towns
In the old days (a few years ago) the power outages used to be in Summer. The term Load shedding was coined. Now we have Load Killing going on. The power outages come in all seasons now. Small Pakistani towns are undergoing outages of 15-18 hours to enable electricity supplies to larger cities, with the power utility saying the de-silting of canals has resulted in hydel production dropping by a whopping 6,100 MW against the installed capacity of 6,500 MW.
PEPCO has reduced the quota of distribution companies (DISCOS), including Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).
Daily Times Reports:
PEPCO was accommodating Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), as these were the major DISCOS. The increased quota to the three companies allows them to enforce outages of only 8-10 hours.
The Indus River System Authority has reduced water flow from Mangla and Tarbela reservoirs prior to the announced schedule, in which it said that canals would be closed from Jan 1, 2009. The de-silting drive has affected hydel power generation in the country, which has plummeted sharply from the maximum capacity of 6,500 megawatts, Daily Times noted.
It quoted sources as saying hydel power generation was contributing only 400 MW, while 6,500 MW was being produced through thermal power plants owned by PEPCO and independent power producers against an electricity demand of 11,500 MW.
Lahore Metroblogs also posted on this crisis and the lack of government action:
http://lahore.metblogs.com/2008/12/30/lahore-in-grip-of-severe-electric-shortage-who-is-responsible-this-or-that-government-what-are-the-solutions/