Pakistan’s electricity crisis has worsened sharply as the national power shortfall has expanded to around 6,500 megawatts, triggering extended and, in many areas, unannounced load shedding across the country.
Official figures show that electricity demand has reached approximately 22,000MW, while total generation stands at nearly 15,400MW, creating a significant supply-demand gap that is increasingly disrupting daily life in both urban and rural regions.
The current generation mix includes around 1,500MW from hydropower, 9,250MW from thermal plants, 1,200MW from wind, 2,850MW from nuclear sources, 400MW from solar, and about 200MW from bagasse-based plants.
The widening deficit has led to load shedding ranging from 8 to 16 hours in several areas, with consumers reporting that outages are far longer than officially described “load management.”
In Lahore, unscheduled power cuts continued throughout the night. Officials stated that the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) region alone is facing a shortfall of around 1,000MW, with peak demand reaching nearly 2,900MW. The Power Division had earlier acknowledged higher-than-expected load management, citing a sudden drop of 1,991MW in hydropower generation during peak hours, which pushed the overall shortfall to about 4,500MW at that time.
Authorities attributed the decline in hydropower output to reduced water releases from dams, while shortages in gas supply have further constrained generation from thermal power plants.
A Petroleum Division official confirmed that LNG imports will remain unavailable until early May, forcing greater reliance on limited domestic gas supplies. This has further tightened fuel availability for power generation.
The impact is being felt nationwide, with extended outages reported in parts of Punjab, southern districts, and MEPCO regions, where residents say blackouts of 12 to 16 hours have become routine. Even major urban centers including Lahore, Faisalabad, and Kasur are experiencing repeated power cuts lasting between 3 and 8 hours.
