KARACHI / PESHAWAR / LAHORE / QUETTA: Hours-long electricity outages across several parts of the country have intensified public hardship, paralysing routine life and economic activity amid rising temperatures.
In Peshawar, residents reported up to 16 hours of daily load-shedding, with businesses struggling to remain operational. Traders said prolonged outages had brought commercial activity to a near standstill, while households faced mounting difficulties in coping with the heat.
Pakistan faces acute power crisis as rural areas face 12‑hour cuts
A similar situation prevails in Karachi, where both scheduled and unscheduled outages have exceeded 12 hours in several localities. Areas including Korangi, Surjani Town, Liaquatabad and Saddar have been among the worst affected, with residents complaining that erratic power supply has severely disrupted daily routines, education and commercial operations.
In Quetta, electricity outages lasting between four and six hours have added to public distress, while other districts of Balochistan are experiencing routine power cuts ranging from eight to 10 hours.
Officials in Lahore said the electricity demand in the service area of Lahore Electric Supply Company has reached around 2,600 megawatts, against a supply of approximately 2,400MW from the national grid, resulting in a shortfall of 200MW. According to sources, load-shedding of three to four hours is being carried out in urban areas, while unannounced outages continue on high-loss feeders. In rural areas, outages extend up to five hours.
The worsening power situation has also drawn criticism from media commentators.
Anchorperson Atahar Kazmi claimed that up to 20,000MW of electricity is wasted in Pakistan at any given time, suggesting that generation capacity exceeds demand but inefficiencies and mismanagement continue to cause outages.
“Despite having surplus capacity, consumers are forced to endure load-shedding,” he said, questioning policy decisions and agreements made by authorities.
Power consumers face double jeopardy as CPPA seeks hike amid daily outages
Meanwhile, another anchorperson, Naveed Sati, criticised what he described as a disconnect between policymakers and the public. He alleged that while citizens in Punjab faced up to eight hours of outages, members of the provincial cabinet travelled to Murree for a meeting chaired by Nawaz Sharif.
He further questioned the transparency of the meeting’s agenda and criticised government spending priorities, contrasting them with public messaging on austerity.
Energy experts say that while demand peaks during summer months exacerbate outages, structural inefficiencies, transmission losses and governance challenges remain key factors behind the persistent power crisis.
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