Hesco | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Amid fuel constraints, the government on Tuesday formally announced more than two hours of daily loadshedding “during peak hours” to prevent a sharp increase in electricity tariffs. However, K-Electric and Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) are excluded from the loadshedding plan, the Power Division said. “The government has decided to suspend the electricity supply for about 2.25 hours daily between 5:00pm and 1:00am,” the Power Division said in a statement. “This step is aimed at reducing the use of costly fuels and preventing a sharp rise in tariffs,” it added. This stems from the suspension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports following the force majeure declared by Qatar due to attacks on its gas field amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Qatar is the main LNG supplier to Pakistan under two long-term contracts envisaging up to 1,000 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). The Power Division said it was capable of meeting full demand but this had negative consequences. “The main challenge at pr...