‘You will be fired if loadshedding exceeds 2 hours,’ PM Shehbaz warns officials

• “Loadshedding for more than two hours is not acceptable. Do whatever,” PM Shehbaz issues directives.
• Officials earn PM’s anger when they told him that only two-hour loadshedding is being observed across Pakistan.
• “People need relief from loadshedding,” says PM.

ISLAMABAD: Irked by prolonged outages, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday warned the top officials of the power ministry that they would be dismissed from service if the duration of loadsheding exceeds two hours a day.

As per the details, PM Shehbaz Sharif convened an emergency meeting to deliberate on the reasons behind the power outages across the country and measures to overcome the problem. Concerned ministers and top officials of the power division attended the huddle.

PM Shehbaz Sharif reprimanded the ministers and officials concerned over the ongoing prolonged loadshedding amid the sweltering weather in the country.

The power officials earned the prime minister’s anger when they told him that only two hours of loadshedding is being observed in the country.

“Over 10 hours of loadshedding is being carried out on a daily basis across the country. I am not ready to trust in your lie,” replied the prime minister.

“Loadshedding for more than two hours is not acceptable. Do whatever,” PM Shehbaz directed the officials.

Rejecting the explanations, the prime minister directed the ministers and officials to get the people rid of the trouble.

“People need relief from loadshedding,” the PM said, adding that there will be no compromise on it.

Shortfall surges to 7,200MW

Meanwhile, sources privy to the matter said that the electricity shortfall has surged to 7,200 megawatts in the country. The demand for electricity in the country is skyrocketing due to hot weather. The country’s overall power generation was recorded at 20,000 megawatts while consumption is over 27,200, the sources added. 

According to the sources, Lahore and other major cities are experiencing more than 10 hours of loadshedding. In smaller cities and villages, though, loadshedding lasts about up to 15 hours.

Due to the shortage of RLNG, numerous plants have been shut down and gas supplies to the textile industry have also been cut off, the sources added.