ISLAMABAD: Even as the Met Office predicted at least two more dry and hot days across the country, the Ministry of Water and Power, in a plea to the general public, has resorted to asking electricity consumers not to use air conditioners for the next couple of days so that the shortfall can be reduced.

After an especially dry 24 hours, satellite imagery on the Met Office website showed even more clear skies over Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and most of northern and western India, with no sign of cloud cover anywhere.

“Due to these conditions, very hot and humid weather is expected in the plains of the country up to Sunday,” a Met official told Dawn.

In the context of this forecast, the Ministry of Water and Power issued a statement on Saturday night advising consumers across the country to save electricity by minimising the use of air conditioners so as “to avoid forced loadshedding”.

People urged to keep ACs switched off for two days

The statement noted that “excessive use of air conditioners can raise the demand for electricity, especially at the time of Iftar, Taraveeh and Sehri”.

Zafaryab Khan, spokesperson for the power ministry, told Dawn the advisory was issued as a precaution, explaining that an increase in demand could lead to a fault and cause the system to trip, resulting in more blackouts.

“Since there is no loadshedding at Sehri and Iftar time, the generation, distribution and transmission systems are working to peak capacity,” Mr Khan said, adding that any tripping at these times would take longer to fix.

“We cannot stop anybody from using any appliance, but we believe that rooms can remain cool even if ACs are switched on for just two hours in a day,” he added.

But Senator Taj Haider, who had accused the K-Electric of unfair loadshedding practices before a Senate standing committee a day earlier, told Dawn that air conditioners would definitely be used if temperatures rose beyond tolerable levels.

He said it was incumbent upon the power companies to provide solutions that worked, adding that such advisories would not be heeded in the face of a rising mercury.

But it’s not all bad news on the weather front. According to the Met Office, monsoon rains may hit certain parts of the country on Sunday night and Monday morning.

The showers, which may last for about a week, are likely to improve weather conditions in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Lahore, Sahiwal, Hazara Division and Azad Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

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