SUKKUR, Oct 17 In spite of the official announcement about three-hour electricity loadshedding in urban areas and five hours in rural areas, the power distribution centre in Jamshoro has asked grid stations in Sukkur to increase the hours of power disruption to eight and 12 hours.

Now eight to ten hours of undeclared loadshedding has become the daily routine in Sukkur, Rohri, Pano Akil, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Daharki and Ubauro.

In rural areas, situation worsens with each passing day and most of the small towns and villages remain virtually without electricity all day and night.

There was no respite from loadshedding even when most of areas in Jacobabad, Kashmore, Shikarpur and other districts were flooded and there was no power consumption.

Power sector officials have been coming out with divergent views about power shortages.

Sadiq Kobhar, media manager, Sepco, told this correspondent that the shortfall varied from time to time. It was 650 megawatts for Hesco and Sepco on Sunday night and 360 megawatts on Sunday. He said six to eight hours of loadshedding had been ordered for urban and rural areas, respectively, and the matter would be taken up at a meeting on Monday.

Sepco's chief executive officer Shamsuddin Shaikh could not be contacted despite several efforts to reach him.