With the ongoing power crisis deepening in Pakistan, the telecom operators on Thursday warned to shut down their mobile and internet services. In a tweet, the National Information Technology Board (NIBT) said, “Telecom operators in Pakistan have warned about shutting down mobile and internet services due to long hours power outages nationwide, as the interruption is causing issues and hindrance in their operations.”
Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had warned about increasing load shedding in the coming month of July, reported Geo News, according to the news agency ANI.
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He said that Pakistan could not get the required liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, however, the coalition government has been working towards the deal. The country’s monthly fuel oil imports are looking to hit a four-year high in June, Refinitiv data showed amid its attempt to buy LNG for power generation on the back of heatwave that has pushed demand, reported Geo News.
The power crisis has escalated after it failed to arrive at a deal for natural gas supply next month. Tenders for July were scrapped owing to high price, and low participation as the nation is already taking action to tackle widespread blackouts.
In a move to conserve energy, it has reduced working hours for public servants and ordered shopping malls to factories to shut early in various cities, including Karachi.
It has already signed a two long-term supply deals with Qatar — the first signed in 2016 for five cargoes a month, and the second in 2021, under which Pakistan currently gets three monthly shipments. However, the country is facing severe power crisis as procurement of the chilled fuel remains unreliable and expensive due to its increased reliance on LNG for electricity generation.
Pakistani petroleum minister Musadik Malik also met Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Qatar energy chief executive Saad al-Kaabi recently had confirmed talks but said the government was exploring different “innovative” pricing and supply strategies in broad-based talks.
In fact, Pakistan finance minister Miftah Ismail said the government was also considering a new five or 10-year LNG supply deal for three monthly cargoes including additional cargo under an existing deal.
The problems have resulted from depletion of the foreign exchange reserves triggered by Pakistan’s inflation of twin deficits, and a lack of foreign currency inflows. Inflation in Pakistan entered the double-digit mark in July, the biggest surge in nearly six years.