Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a review on Friday, September 11, and instructed authorities to ensure no area faces more than two hours of planned power outage while using all available resources to limit cuts.
- Officials told the meeting that interruptions to regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) shipments and transport problems tied to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have reduced thermal generation and forced load management.
- Regulatory and operational moves followed: NEPRA ordered K‑Electric to stop unannounced and feeder‑wide cuts in Karachi and the PM directed DISCOs to set up Consumer Grievance Redressal Committees with public representatives within one week.
- Reports say the national shortfall has topped 4,000 megawatts with LESCO facing about 1,200 MW of deficit and some areas in Khyber‑Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi reporting daily outages of 10–12 hours or more as authorities manage scarce supply.
- The disruption has sharply raised RLNG‑based generation costs and prompted costly spot purchases, increasing fiscal pressure on the power sector and risking higher tariffs or more imports if supply routes are not secured.