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January 04, 2009
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Sunday
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Muharram 06, 1430
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PPP’s rivals behind riots, says minister: No unannounced loadshedding after two days
By Sher Baz Khan
ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has appealed to the nation to remain calm and support efforts to end the power crisis as violent riots continued to hit parts of the country on Saturday.
Mr Ashraf alleged that protests were being orchestrated by rivals of the Pakistan People’s Party and said the government knew who were behind them.
“The burning of public property and the damage to government buildings will not resolve the power crisis. We need to get united and resolve the issue by supporting each other,” he said.
A spokesman for the water and power ministry, meanwhile, said 1,000 megawatts of electricity had been added to the power system during the last 24 hours after the government stepped up furnace oil supplies to independent power producers (IPPs) and Wapda’s generation companies.
The spokesman said oil supplies to power generation companies had been expedited after an emergency meeting at the presidency on Friday devised a plan for minimising the impact of the energy crisis.
He told Dawn that power generation had increased following the release of Rs7.5billion for oil supplies.
He said another 1,000MW would be added to the system by IPPs and Wapda’s generation companies over the next 48 hours, bringing the shortfall to 2,500MW from 4,500MW.
The electricity shortfall hovered around 3,500MW in January last year.
“Over the next two days, we will be in a position to avoid unannounced loadshedding throughout the country,” he said.
The spokesperson said that a supply of 30,000 tons of fuel oil per day to power generation companies was being ensured.
The Indus River System Authority will also restart releasing water to augment hydroelectricity generation.
The power minister stayed in his office till late into the night and remained in touch with officials in several parts of the country.
A spokesman for the ministry said Mr Ashraf had ordered that the offices of the ministry and major field offices of the Pakistan Electric Power Company and distribution companies should remain open on Sunday.
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