Pakistan’s major electricity deficit exceeds 5,500 megawatts, causing widespread load shedding across urban and rural regions for multiple hours daily.
As the country experiences increasing temperatures, the electricity demand has surged to 26,300 megawatts, whereas the total power generation capacity remains around 20,500 megawatts.
According to the Power Division, this gap between demand and supply has resulted in urban areas experiencing 4 to 6 hours of load shedding daily. In comparison, rural areas experience power outages for up to 8 hours. In certain regions with higher levels of electricity theft and losses, load shedding extends to 12 to 16 hours.
Officials have stated that these outages are scheduled, and there are no unannounced load-shedding incidents. The prolonged power cuts are confined to areas plagued by high theft, significant losses, and low recovery rates.
Conversely, in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the local electric supply company IESCO reports having surplus electricity within its allocated quota. As a result, load shedding previously justified by maintenance requirements has been eliminated in these twin cities.
