Govt apologises for ‘temporary’ night-time loadshedding due to unavailability of RLNG

The government on Saturday apologised to consumers for electricity loadshedding during the night, attributing it to the unavailability of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), and assured them that load management would be reduced “as soon as” the delayed RLNG cargoes arrived. In a statement, the Power Division spokesperson said temporary load management of 1.5 to three hours had been carried out during last night’s peak hours due to a 3,600MW shortfall resulting from the unavailability of RLNG after a cargo failed to arrive on time. The situation was compounded by a 195MW decline in generation from Mangla Dam. Furnace oil-based power plants were also brought into operation during peak hours so that the electricity demand in the country could be met during the night hours, the statement added. “This temporary load management will be reduced as soon as the RLNG cargoes arrive,” it stated. The Power Division stressed that consumers needed to “moderate their electricity usage during peak hours at night so that load management can be kept to a minimum”. “There is no load management during the day. However, in areas where load management is carried out due to losses, electricity is b