Pakistan is cutting off electricity to households and industries as the country’s limited cash is not enough to buy coal or gas from abroad in the spot market to power power plants, according to Bloomberg.
The country of South Asia is facing serious problems after the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal jumped to historic highs last month, with the war in Ukraine easing pressure on supply. Pakistan’s energy spending thus more than doubled to more than $ 15 billion in the nine months to the end of February from a year earlier, leaving the country unable to spend more on extra supplies.
The 3,500-megawatt power plant had already shut down power by April 13, according to a Twitter post by Miftah Ismail, who was ousted as the new finance minister by new Prime Minister Sebhaz Sharif. Units of production of so many megawatts have stopped operating due to technical problems. The 7,000 megawatts represent about one-fifth of the country’s total energy production, according to Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib, based in Karachi.
The power crash further complicates the financial challenges for the new Sharif government, which does not yet have an energy minister, a week after ousting populist Prime Minister Imran Khan following a motion of censure in parliament.
Pakistan’s long-term LNG suppliers have also canceled a series of deliveries in the past two months, further reducing the country’s reserves.
Source: Capital
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