ISLAMABAD: Minister for Power Awais Leghari has declared an end to the recent power load-shedding in the country, citing the arrival of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and increased electricity production from hydropower as key factors. The announcement comes as a relief to citizens who have endured power outages over the past two weeks.

According to Radio Pakistan, Leghari explained in a video message that electricity production from hydropower has now reached 6,000 megawatts. The recent power load-shedding, which began approximately fifteen days ago, was attributed to a gas shortage caused by disruptions in LNG supplies due to the US-Iran conflict. The minister emphasized that the outages were not due to negligence or insufficient production capacity.

Leghari noted that using diesel or furnace oil to produce electricity during the shortage would have led to prohibitively high costs, burdening consumers financially. He clarified that the country’s actual generation capacity is 32,000 megawatts, not the previously assumed 46,000 megawatts. The minister assured that efforts would be made to shield consumers from potential increases in electricity prices.