Loadshedding to be reduced to 2 hours by June 30.
Amid the worsening energy crisis, the federal cabinet on Tuesday approved the restoration of two-day weekly off at public offices.
This was stated by the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb while briefing media about the decisions taken by the Federal Cabinet, which met in Islamabad today with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair.
The two-day weekend was earlier curtailed to a single day by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, the information minister said it has been restored under ‘unprecedented circumstances’.
The minister also said that the government was planning to promote work-from-home to conserve energy.
She said that a suggestion had been made to work from home on Fridays. “The prime minister has formed a committee regarding work from home on Fridays,” Marriyum said, adding that $386 million would be saved by resuming Saturday weekly holiday.
Marriyum Aurangzeb announced a plan for reducing the duration of electricity loadshedding to only two hours by June 30. The information minister said that the duration of power loadshedding from June 6 to 15 would be three-and-a-half hours, adding that it would be three hours after June 16. She further claimed that the duration of loadshedding would be two-and-a-half hours from June 25 to 29, adding: “By June 30, the loadshedding of electricity will be reduced to two hours.” The minister said that the government would consult with the stakeholders on the early closure of markets and announce the final decision after it.
She added that the power shortfall in the country currently stood at 4,600MWs as the electricity was not being generated to full capacity. However, she said the government is taking measures to overcome the problem.
She said that the duration of load-shedding across the country would decrease gradually during the month.
Explaining the plan after phase-wise induction of electricity in the national grid, the minister said the duration of power outages from June 6 to 15 would be 3.5 hours a day while it would drop to three hours a day from June 16 to June 24. Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed that it would come down to only two hours a day by the end of the month.
The Information Minister also informed the media about the ban on medical treatment of ministers and government officials abroad, adding that there would be a complete ban on foreign visits of the officials.
