KARACHI: Pakistan’s southwestern coastal region in Balochistan has been facing prolonged power outages for over three weeks, in part due to a drastic reduction of power supply from Iran, a senior official said on Thursday, while the energy minister said Pakistan had requested Iran to normalize power supply to Balochistan.
Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement in 2003 under which Iran had to daily supply 35 megawatts to Balochistan’s coastal belt. In 2011, the agreement was extended, and Iran was asked to increase the capacity to 70 megawatts.
Five years later, when construction work in the deep-sea port of Gwadar gained momentum, 30 megawatts were added to the power supply and Iran has since been selling 100 megawatts to Pakistan to light up its coastal areas.
The Iranian embassy in Islamabad and its consulate in Karachi did not respond to Arab News requests for a comment.
“Power shortfalls in Iran have led to load shedding in our Gwadar, Turbat & Makraan regions. These areas are not connected to the national grid & dependant upon Iranian power supply. We have taken up the issue with the Iranian govt and requested them to normalize power supply,” Pakistan’s energy minister Hammad Azhar said on Twitter.
Power shortfalls in Iran have led to load shedding in our Gwadar, Turbat & Makraan regions. These areas are not connected to the national grid & dependant upon Iranian power supply. We have taken up the issue with the Iranian govt and requested them to normalise power supply. 1/2
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) July 29, 2021
“Work is also in progress on connecting these areas with the national grid. This involves laying transmission lines for hundreds of kms. This project will be completed within 2 years,” Azhar added.
Power shortfalls in Iran have led to load shedding in our Gwadar, Turbat & Makraan regions. These areas are not connected to the national grid & dependant upon Iranian power supply. We have taken up the issue with the Iranian govt and requested them to normalise power supply. 1/2
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) July 29, 2021
“Pakistan’s energy minister Hammad Azhar took up the issue with the Iranian ambassador today [Thursday], urging him to take necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted power supply at the earliest,” Zafar Yab Khan, a power division spokesperson, told Arab News. “The Iranian envoy assured him to restore the electricity, saying the government in his country was working to fix the problem in the border areas.”
According to Muhammad Afzal, a spokesperson of the Quetta Electric Supply Company, the country is also purchasing four megawatts from Iran for the border towns of Taftan and Mashkel.
“Iran cut down the electrical supply from 100 to 10 megawatts on July 6 without prior warning,” said Afzal. “These 10 megawatts cannot be provided to people since we use them to protect our valuable electricity installations and equipment.”
Senator Ahmed Ali Ahmedzai, who raised the issue of power outages during a recent meeting of a Senate standing committee, said electricity breakdowns had become common in the last few years.
“My colleagues and I have raised the issue in the standing committee meeting since we are facing a serious problem in Makran district which solely relies on Iranian power supply,” he told Arab News.
Officials say the problem began earlier this month.
