Pakistan faces massive power outages

17:16 - 16.04.2026


April 16, Fineko/abc.az. Pakistan is encountering its biggest energy crisis in recent years, with the war in Iran effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, and Qatar forced to halt exports from the world's largest LNG plant after attacks in early March, ABC.AZ informs, referring to Bloomberg.

On Wednesday evening, during the peak demand period, the deficit reached 4,500 MW, about a quarter of total consumption.

The Ministry warned that rolling power outages in some areas began to last longer - up to 14 hours instead of the previous two evenings, partly due to a decrease in hydrogenation. Rural areas suffer the most.

According to the news agency, Pakistan buys almost all of the liquefied natural gas used to generate electricity from Qatar. The authorities are considering the possibility of purchases on the spot market, where fuel is much more expensive, however, according to Bloomberg sources, prices must fall to an acceptable level for this.