The Minister of Energy announces the end of load management throughout the country

Energy Minister Awais Leghari on Friday announced the end of load management across the country following the arrival of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes.

In a video message on the minister’s X account, Leghari recalled that about two weeks ago, consumers had been subjected to load shedding due to lack of gas supply. On 13 and 14 April, up to five hours of load shedding had to be carried out. However, there was no load management from 17 to 19 April, while from 19 to 29 April it was reduced to two to two and a half hours.

He said the recent electricity shortage and scheduled load shedding experienced earlier this month was not due to any technical failure or inability to generate power, but due to temporary fuel supply constraints.

“After six to seven years when Nawaz Sharif’s government stopped load shedding, this is happening for the first time,” he said.

He said the gas shortage was caused by disruptions in LNG supplies amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict, noting that expensive alternative fuels such as diesel and heating oil could have been used to eliminate load shedding, but this would have placed an additional financial burden on consumers.

He said the country had been forced to rely on expensive alternatives such as diesel and heating oil to meet demand, warning that this would have increased electricity costs for consumers.

The minister said that additional gas supplies, which were bought at spot prices, had arrived. The minister added that hydropower generation had increased significantly, rising from about 1,000 megawatts to 6,000 MW, which helped improve supply levels.

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The minister said LNG cargoes had now reached Pakistan, improving fuel availability for power plants. “After this, load shedding has now ended,” he said, expressing hope that the country would no longer face planned outages.

He also dismissed allegations of a lack of installed capacity, saying Pakistan’s total generating capacity was around 32,000 MW, not 46,000 MW as alleged by some critics. He added that hydropower generation varied seasonally, affecting the overall supply.

He said the government had to run fuel oil-based plants to overcome the shortage, but efforts would continue to protect consumers from expensive electricity. “With timely measures, we are hopeful that the public will not face load shedding in the coming days,” he added.

The country has faced a worsening electricity crisis, with total power outages reaching 6,500 MW, leading to prolonged load shedding in several regions and growing public frustration.

“After April 1, the supply of LNG from abroad came to a standstill and Qatar declared force majeure. From that day, there was a significant gap in the fulfillment of demands, which were earlier met during peak hours through gas-based power plants,” the energy minister had said at a press conference on April 16.

On April 14, the Power Division announced that due to the increased demand for electricity during peak hours, electricity would be suspended for about 2.25 hours daily between

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Across both urban and rural areas, however, consumers reported outages that far exceeded the limited “load management” described by authorities. In remote districts, power outages stretching up to 12 hours and in some cases up to 16 hours had effectively brought routine life to a standstill.

“The objective of this load management is to reduce the use of expensive fuel and prevent an increase in electricity prices,” the electricity division said.

Since rising tensions between the US and Iran in the Middle East led to a spike in oil prices, the government has increased fuel prices by more than 50%.

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran in February, after which Tehran retaliated with strikes and closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil supplies and triggering a sharp rise in international oil prices.

Amid rising prices, the government raised oil prices twice in the first week of March, noting that the hikes exceeded that of the international market. However, the biggest increase was seen in April this year.

Last month, the government hiked petrol price by Rs 137 per litre, taking it to a record high of Rs 458.4. But a few days later, the prime minister in a televised speech announced a reduction of Rs80 per liter in the kerosene tax on petrol, bringing the price down to Rs378 per litre.

Last week, the government again hiked the prices of both high-speed diesel and petrol by Rs26.77 per litre. liter despite no corresponding rise in international prices as it imposed nearly Rs27 per litre. liter of extra tax on fuel to push prices higher.

Just a week later, it raised oil product prices again on Thursday, bringing them close to Rs400 per litre.