News
Ministry sends fresh load management plan for PM’s nod
By Ahmad Ahmadani
ISLAMABAD: As summer season is approaching when demand for electricity rises significantly; the government in order to control power outages is about to approve an electricity load management plan.
Sources at the Water and Power Ministry told Daily Times that the ministry had dispatched a load management plan to the prime minister (PM) for an approval in order to save 1,000MW of electricity by implementing the plan.
“The Punjab province has shown willingness to implement the plan while the PM has been asked to consult chief ministers (CMs) of remaining provinces to get their nod for the implementation of the load management plan in summer,” a top official said on the condition of anonymity.
He said that the ministry had recommended the PM to approve closure of industries for one day in a week; suspension of power supply to business centres and marriage halls from 8pm; ban on holding wedding functions at marriage halls during 8pm to 11pm; ban on use of air-conditioners (ACs) in government offices before 11am; and, change of streetlights and lights of hoardings and government buildings to replace with LED (light emitting diode) lights.
“No to the recommendations of the power ministry’s plan would cause severe unannounced power load shedding in the peak summer season,” a senior official at the ministry warned.
He added that the Council of Common Interest (CCI) had earlier given its approval to the said power load management plan to avoid ruthless power outages in the summer.
The sources further said that around 300MW of power would be saved by closing business centres across the country at 8pm, 100MW of electricity would be saved by changing the existing lights of buildings, roadways, street and hoarding lights with the LED lights while 170MW to be saved by closing the industries for one day a week.
The sources said that 2,000MW of power would be added to the system within next two or three months with the commissioning of two power plants while 1,000MW of power would be saved by acting upon the management plan, limiting power shortfall in the country up to 4,000MW.
Meanwhile, Water and Power Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif has said that there would be less power outages in the coming summers as compared to the previous year. He said that presently power shortfall stands at 2,100MW of electricity instead of 6,000MW of power. Besides addition of 2,000MW of power with the commissioning of two new power plants, around 800MW of power would also be restored from old power plants in near future to meet the energy needs, he added.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk