[Sawyer]

ISLAMABAD - As citizens’ anger continues to boil over persistent power outages amid scorching temperatures, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Tuesday increased the tariff of electricity, for the second time in a week, by Rs 1.97 per unit.
NEPRA approved the revision of the tariff for the month of April per the monthly fuel price adjustment. The official notification of the revised tariff will be issued soon, sources said.
After the tariff raise, the additional amount of April’s bill would be collected from the consumers in November. The revised tariff notification will be applicable to all the electric supply companies, except the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC).
On the other hand, angry people again took to the streets as the power situation worsened on Tuesday. People in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other major cities, are facing power outages of up to 17 hours a day, while those in rural areas are without electricity for 21-22 hours a day.
Sources said the generation of electricity stood at 10,300MW, while the demand was 16,665MW. They said the shortfall had increased due to inadequate supply of oil to power houses.
Residents in several cities also faced a severe shortage of water, as water pumps could not be operated without electricity.
Irked by hours-long power outages amid scorching heat, people across the country took out processions against load shedding. Protesters in Kotli took to the streets, cursing authorities for load shedding of up to 20 hours.
The protesters blocked the road near Shaheed Chowk and surrounded a grid station. Residents of Multan also came out on to roads with batons and staged a protest against load shedding. The protesters turned violent and burnt tyres to block roads, besides pelting stones and sticks on police and other vehicles.
Angry citizens staged a sit-in on the Kabirwala Bypass on Lahore Road, which resulted in blockade of roads leading to Lahore, Jhang, Shorkot, Faisalabad and Sargodha.
Protests against load shedding were also held in Khanewal, Faisalabad, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Jhang, Sargodha and Rawalpindi. The crisis was worsened by a new spell of severe hot and dry weather.
The Meteorological Department said the fresh heat wave would persist for three to four days. Most of the areas in Sindh and Punjab sizzled on Tuesday as the mercury surged to 47 degree Celsius in Shikarpur, 47 in Larkana, 46 in Nawabshah, 45 in Noshehroferoz and 43 degree Celsius in Sukkur.