PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the PML-N government and its cabinet apologised to the people for the current loadshedding, but asked for time to resolve the existing issues.

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He said this while addressing a news conference along with Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik in Islamabad on Monday.

He claimed that loadshedding would be reduced to 3.5 hours from tomorrow (Tuesday).

He further said that as per the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, loadshedding will be minimised to the level of 1.5 hours till 30th of this month.

He reaffirmed the government’s resolve to overcome the issue of loadshedding very soon.

As usual, he held the PTI government responsible for energy shortfall, adding that the country’s electricity demand has exceeded 25,000MW during the summer.

He highlighted that when the current government assumed charge, the electricity generation capacity was at 17,000MW which was increased to more than 21,000MW over the past three weeks.

“Today, we are producing 21,000MW which means we have a shortfall of 4,000MW,” he said, adding that this translated into a little more than four hours of loadshedding to fill the supply and demand gap.

“We have decided that from tomorrow (Tuesday) we will reduce loadshedding to three-and-a-half hours,” he said, adding that additional money had been paid while oil had also been arranged to ensure this. “We are hopeful that by tomorrow loadshedding will be reduced to 3.5 hours.”

In the next phase when coal is imported, the duration of loadshedding will further reduce by June 16. “By June 30, the duration will be less than two hours, close to an hour-and-a-half.”

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He expressed the hope that the government would be able to reduce this further during the month of July.

According to BOL TV, PTI leader and former energy minister Umar Ayub lambasted the PML-Led coalition government for its utterly failure to control electricity loadshedding in the country.

Umar Ayub said that the PTI government had purchased the LNG 31pc cheaper, which would save $3 billion in the next ten years.