ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal minister for water and power Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that the entire power system disrupted by the sabotage activities will be restored by this evening.
In a news conference in Islamabad on Monday about the supply situation of electricity, he said that it is our utmost effort to ensure zero load shedding to industrial in the next two to three days, according to a report published on Radio Pakistan website.
The minister said that eight hours load shedding will be carried out in the rural and six hours in urban areas.
Khawaja Asif said that steps have been taken to enhance security of power installations. He said that an inquiry has also been ordered into the power breakdown which will submit its report within 48 hours.
The water and power minister said that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and China State Grid have been requested for technical assistance to avoid complete blackouts in future.
The minister ruled out any power crisis due to shortage of oil. He said that 12 cargoes have been booked through the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) which will start arriving from Tuesday or Wednesday. He said that his ministry owe around Rs170 billion to the PSO and we are trying to pay off the amount in installments.
The federal minister said that it is utmost effort of the government to ensure equitable load shedding from Karachi to Peshawar as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
Moreover, he pointed out the country is faced with the issue of power load shedding and it will take two to three years to address the issue. He said that load shedding is expected to end by summer of 2017.
PM Nawaz seeks report of blackout in 48 hours
Meanwhile, in a high level meeting held in Islamabad on Monday to review the power supply situation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed the authorities concerned to put in place a comprehensive system to avert recurrence of power breakdown in future.
The prime minister directed that technical report of the blackout be presented in 48 hours.
The minister for water and power briefed the prime minister on the factors that caused the massive breakdown and updated him on the current power supply situation in the country. He said that the situation is gradually improving and soon the system would be brought back to normal.
