Pakistan announces power cuts in bid to control energy prices

Pakistan will suspend electricity supply for about two hours during peak-usage times every evening, the government said, in an effort to manage energy prices affected by the Iran war.

Power will be suspended in most of the country for two-and-a-quarter hours between 5:00pm and 1:00am each day, according to a statement released by the energy ministry on Tuesday.

Demand peaks at these times, with expensive furnace-oil-fired plants needed to bridge the gap left by reduced hydroelectric generation.

The blackouts will occur on a rolling basis -- rather than at the same time across the country -- with the country's largest city Karachi, home to more than 20 million, exempt from the cuts.

The US-Israeli war on Iran, launched on February 28, has plunged the Middle East into violence, roiling energy markets after supplies through the key Strait of Hormuz were blocked by Tehran.

About a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supplies pass through the strait under normal circumstances -- much of it bound for Asia.

Pakistan is particularly dependent on the route for its energy needs. While it has secured passage for some of its tankers during the crisis, the cargoes are still going at a premium due to the global energy price surge.

The Pakistani energy ministry said the power cuts were "aimed at reducing the use of costly fuels and preventing a sharp rise in tariffs".

The cities of Karachi and Hyderabad were exempt from the suspensions, the ministry said, because of "the availability of low-cost power generation in the southern region".

Agence France-Presse