ISLAMABAD: PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday vowed to fix the issue of power load shedding in the coming days, and said the government was “sorry” for the current issue.
Addressing a press conference with federal ministers, Abbasi said the government needed time to address the power shortage as the country was generating 21,000 MW and there was a shortfall of 4,000 MW.
The former prime minister said that as a result of the shortage, officials had to opt for four-hour load shedding across the country.
Abbasi said Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif held a meeting in this regard today and decided to reduce the loadshed to 3.5 hours, adding that additional funds have been released to facilitate electricity providers.
In the next phase, when coal is imported, the loadshedding will be reduced to less than three hours till June 16, Abbasi said, adding that from June 30, power cuts would be between 1.5-2 hours only.
He said the government expects the load shedding period to be further reduced in July.
The former prime minister said that the previous government had lied about setting up power plants during its four-year tenure. “Two big plants which were supposed to be completed in 2019, which were used to generate cheap electricity, have not been completed till date. Not a single plant has been set up in the last four years,” he said.
The former prime minister said the government has increased production of coal-fired power plants and that fertilizer and other industries have also been restored.
The PTI-led government lied to the country that the country’s power generation capacity is 30,000 MW. “Even if all the power plants are commissioned, they will not be able to produce a combined 27,000 MW. Not even 1 kW of energy was generated,” Abbasi said, adding that “the country is only under the Qatar agreements.” The reason was safe.”
Highlighting the efforts of the present government to generate electricity, the PML-N leader said that the government is generating electricity by buying expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) and furnace oil from the market.
Abbasi said that the government is not charging people tax on petroleum products, they will be sold at the original price. He also said that electricity is being generated at the rate of Rs 60 per unit while electricity is being provided to the consumers at cheaper rates.