Improved hydel output, local gas supply ease power situation during peak hours: Power Division

ISLAMABAD, Apr 29 (APP):The Power Division on Wednesday said that improved hydel generation and availability of local gas helped stabilize the electricity supply situation during peak hours, reducing the need for load management.

According to a spokesperson, total hydropower generation stood at around 6,000 megawatts during peak hours on the night of April 28, against the country’s installed hydel capacity of 11,500 megawatts.

The spokesperson said that electricity generation also improved due to additional supply of indigenous gas to certain power plants, contributing to overall system stability.

He added that enhanced hydel output and local gas availability enabled better transmission from the southern region, allowing an additional 100 megawatts to be absorbed into the national grid. Overall, about 500 megawatts of electricity was successfully transmitted from the south.

The spokesperson said that power distribution companies carried out limited load management during peak hours, ranging from 25 minutes to one hour.

However, no load management was required after 8:00 pm due to a decline in demand driven by weather conditions, he added.

He clarified that economic load management is being implemented only on high-loss feeders and has no relation to peak-hour load management.

The spokesperson further noted that around 5,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity remains unavailable due to non-availability of LNG amid prevailing global conditions.

He expressed optimism that the situation would improve in the coming days, as increased LNG availability and higher water releases are expected to eliminate the shortfall during night hours.