LAHORE (Dunya News) - LAHORE: Even before the peak summer season, the electricity crisis has intensified across Pakistan, with severe load shedding leaving citizens distressed and triggering a growing water shortage in several cities.
According to sources, the situation has worsened across all power distribution companies (DISCOs), with the average power shortfall exceeding 3,500 megawatts, leading to increased unannounced load shedding in Punjab, including Lahore.
In urban areas, electricity outages lasting 6 to 8 hours daily have become routine, while rural areas are facing 12 to 14 hours of load shedding. Frequent power cuts throughout the day have disrupted routine life and business activities, while prolonged outages at night have deprived citizens of sleep.
In LESCO, the shortfall has exceeded 1,000 megawatts, with severe load shedding reported throughout the night, contradicting the Power Division’s claim of only 2 hours and 15 minutes of outages.
In several areas of Lahore, electricity is being suspended for one hour after every hour, while in rural regions, outages have exceeded eight hours.
LESCO sources said that electricity demand decreases during the day due to solar usage, but load shedding intensifies in the evening. The company faced a shortfall of 1,000 megawatts at night, with demand reaching 2,900 megawatts. Complaints of low voltage have also been reported in urban areas.
Other cities, including Multan and Jhang, are also facing prolonged and unannounced load shedding. In Multan, outages last 8 to 10 hours in urban areas and up to 12 hours in rural regions, with an additional two hours imposed on high-loss feeders, pushing total outages to 14 hours.
According to officials, Multan is facing a shortfall exceeding 500 megawatts, while the Multan Electric Power Company requires 2,000 megawatts to serve its 11 million consumers, making it difficult to follow the official load shedding schedule.
In Jhang, unannounced outages have exceeded 12 hours, with repeated long-duration cuts disrupting both domestic and commercial users.
Meanwhile, in Peshawar, load shedding has increased with the onset of heat, with urban areas facing 15 to 18 hours of outages and surrounding areas experiencing up to 20 hours without electricity.
Citizens say that despite paying heavy electricity bills, they are not receiving adequate power supply, while prolonged outages have also led to a worsening water crisis in several cities including Lahore.
Sources from the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) said the crisis is driven by shortages of RLNG, hydropower, and oil, adding that the absence of a proper load shedding schedule is causing unannounced outages.
They further stated that instead of scheduled two-hour outages, load shedding of up to six hours at a time is being carried out, and the situation is likely to persist for several more days. Meanwhile, a petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court against ongoing unannounced load shedding across the country.
The miscellaneous application, submitted by the Judicial Activism Panel, states that citizens are facing outages despite paying high electricity bills and are not being provided equal power supply.
It further highlights that business activities are being adversely affected due to frequent outages.
The petitioner has requested the court to ensure uninterrupted and non-discriminatory electricity supply and to take steps for ending load shedding.