Pakistan Power Cuts Hit 16 Hours as RLNG Shortage Strains Grid
Pakistan is facing prolonged electricity outages in several parts of the country as intense heat and humid conditions increase pressure on households and businesses, with power cuts in some affected areas reported to have stretched to as long as 16 hours. The disruptions have added to public hardship at a time when cooling demand remains high and reliable electricity is essential for homes, commercial activity and water supply systems.
The latest power-management difficulties are linked in part to reduced electricity generation from plants dependent on regasified liquefied natural gas, or RLNG. The Power Division has said that a shortage of the fuel affected three RLNG-based power plants in Punjab, cutting available generation and forcing temporary load management during periods of high demand.
According to information provided by the Power Division, the RLNG supply problem reduced electricity generation by about 3,600 megawatts. Output from the Mangla hydropower project was also around 195MW lower, further widening the gap between electricity supply and demand. Authorities turned to furnace-oil-based generation during peak periods in an effort to compensate for the shortfall, but the additional production was not sufficient to fully replace the unavailable capacity.
Officials linked the RLNG shortage to disruption in contracted gas supplies and delays involving replacement cargoes. Pakistan LNG Limited had to seek alternative supplies from the spot market after contracted deliveries were affected by a force majeure situation. Delays in the arrival of an RLNG cargo then placed further pressure on fuel availability for power generation, according to information reported on the developing energy situation.
The Power Division has maintained that the fuel-related shortage resulted mainly in temporary nighttime load management of roughly one-and-a-half to three hours during peak demand. It said daytime load management was not being carried out specifically because of the RLNG shortfall, while areas with high distribution losses continued to face electricity cuts according to their existing schedules. Reports from different parts of the country, however, indicate that total outages in some localities have extended far beyond those temporary peak-hour measures.
Consumers in major urban centres have reported repeated interruptions during hot and humid weather. In Lahore, residents of areas including Township, Green Town, Sabzazar, Samanabad, Ichhra, Shadman and Iqbal Town have faced recurring outages, with local reporting indicating that household routines and business activity have been disrupted. Longer cuts can also affect water pumping, refrigeration, internet access and small enterprises that cannot afford continuous backup power.
Transmission limitations are another factor complicating the response. Electricity available in southern parts of the country cannot always be transferred in full to northern demand centres because of constraints in the transmission network. This means additional generation in one region cannot necessarily be used immediately to offset shortages elsewhere, increasing the impact when major power plants lose fuel or reduce production.
The Power Division has apologised to consumers for the temporary load management and urged people to use electricity carefully during peak hours. Officials expect the situation to improve after delayed RLNG supplies arrive and affected power plants restore generation. Until then, the combination of fuel constraints, transmission bottlenecks and high seasonal demand is likely to keep electricity reliability under close scrutiny across Pakistan.