Pakistan power shortage upsets steel and textile mill operations

Islamabad: Pakistan has shut all steel smelters across the country for two weeks and ordered hundreds of textile mills to reduce operations to cope with an acute power shortage, a government official said on Saturday.

All business and shopping centres have also been told to close early.

Pakistan is suffering a power deficit of up to 3,600 megawatts due to low water levels at major reservoirs and damage to two main power lines inflicted during the violence that erupted after opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed on December 27.

"All steel melting units will remain closed for two weeks," said Tahir Basharat Cheema, a senior official at state-owned Pakistan Electric Power Company. "The government has also told textile mills to close operations for five hours in the evening."

Cheema said water levels have fallen by up to 32 per cent in comparison to last year's level, badly effecting the country's generating capacity.

Pakistan's current installed capacity is around 19,845 megawatts, of which around one-third is hydro-electric. Much of the rest is thermal, fuelled primarily by gas and oil.

Two main power transmission lines were blown up on January 1 in Sindh, creating a shortfall of 1,000 MW. Cheema could not say whether the sabotage was linked to the violence that shook the country after Bhutto's assassination.

Cheema also blamed independent power producers (IPPs) for the crisis.

Private producers

"IPPs have not come to our expectations and out of 5,800 MW of confirmed capacity, they have been able to give us only 3,800 MW on average."

Private power producers were also affected by violence in recent days. Railway engines and trains were torched during the violence, disrupting the transport of fuel to industrial and power units across the country.

Cheema said most IPPs were running fuel stocks below the required minimum of 21 days.

The closure of steel units and reduced working hours at textile mills will help save 850 MW of electricity. Cheema said after the repair of the power lines, load-shedding will make up for the remaining shortages.

A steel mill owner in Islamabad, Salman Arif, said the measure would hurt about 100 steel melting units and 500 auxiliary re-rolling units across the country.

"There will be huge losses to this industry."