Residents across Pakistan's Punjab province are enduring hours-long unannounced power cuts as a severe heatwave drives electricity demand beyond available supply, local media reported on Thursday, 2 July. The crisis has left households and businesses without power for extended periods, with the gap between demand and supply reportedly stretching between 500MW and 800MW.

Scale of the Outages

Localities across Lahore — including Gulberg, Green Town, Johar Town, Baghbanpura, Township, Garden Town, China Scheme, and Anarkali — have reported persistent power interruptions, unstable voltage, and prolonged restoration times. Residents of suburban areas and other cities served by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) have also flagged unscheduled outages.

Beyond inconvenience, the repeated fluctuations have caused material damage. Residents say electronic appliances — including air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, and water motors — have been damaged by low voltage and power surges, according to reports in The Express Tribune.

LESCO's Position vs Ground Reality

LESCO has maintained that there is no declared or undeclared load-shedding in Lahore, attributing power interruptions solely to scheduled shutdowns for development work and maintenance on high-loss feeders. The utility has asserted that adequate electricity is available to meet current demand.

However, separate reports contradict this position. Electricity demand in the region reportedly reached over 4,750MW, while supply from the National Power Control Centre stood at approximately 4,200MW — a shortfall of up to 800MW. Technical faults have also multiplied under the stress of severe heat, compounding the supply gap.

Karachi's Ashura Outages Add to the Pattern

The Punjab crisis follows a similar breakdown in Karachi in June, when residents faced electricity outages during the religiously significant days of Ashura. K-Electric had claimed it exempted several areas from scheduled load-shedding until Muharram 11, but residents across large parts of the city — including Saddar, Burns Road, Lyari, Clifton, Defence Housing Authority, Federal B. Area, North Karachi, Liaquatabad, Malir, Korangi, Shah Faisal Colony, Orangi Town, Keamari, and Baldia Town — reported prolonged cuts, according to Dawn. K-Electric had described supply as 'uninterrupted as per schedule', a claim residents disputed.

A Recurring Crisis

Pakistan's power sector has long struggled with a structural mismatch between installed capacity and actual deliverable supply, compounded by circular debt and aging infrastructure. Summer heatwaves routinely expose this gap, pushing utilities into informal load-shedding even as they publicly deny it. Critics argue that the disconnect between official statements and lived experience has eroded public trust in the country's power distribution companies.

With temperatures in Punjab showing no immediate sign of easing, residents and businesses face continued uncertainty over power availability in the days ahead.