Pakistan is reportedly planning two-hour evening power cuts to manage soaring energy costs, a move met with widespread online criticism. The outages aim to curb demand during peak hours when hydropower output is low and fossil fuel prices are high. While some cities may be spared, the decision highlights the nation’s precarious energy situation amid rising global fuel costs.
Pakistan is reportedly planning to switch off the lights – literally – for a couple of hours every evening as it struggles to keep its energy bills in check. And yes, the internet has already started rolling its eyes.According to a Bloomberg report, the country may introduce scheduled power cuts of around two hours during peak evening hours. The logic is simple: electricity demand shoots up between 5 pm and 1 am, and with hydropower output dipping, the gap has to be filled using fossil fuels – which have suddenly become far more expensive amid the ongoing Iran war.So instead of letting electricity prices spiral out of control for households, authorities are choosing to manage demand the old-school way: planned outages.
Power distribution companies have been told to give people a heads-up about these cuts and avoid those all-too-familiar “surprise” blackouts.Officials insist the system is stable and can technically meet demand, but peak hours remain the real headache.
Interestingly, not everyone will feel the pinch. Cities like Karachi and Hyderabad are likely to be spared, thanks to relatively cheaper power generation in the southern region.
Still, the bigger picture isn’t pretty. Rising fuel costs, shrinking reserves, and a fragile energy setup have left the country walking a tightrope. Former central bank governor Reza Baqir even pointed out that global shocks like the Iran conflict tend to hit already vulnerable economies the hardest.Meanwhile, on social media, the reactions have been… ruthless.Many users couldn’t help but point out the irony, joking that a country that often positions itself as a key global player is now struggling to keep the lights on at home.
One user quipped, “Aur inhe Kashmir chahiye,” while others sarcastically dubbed it a “superpower moment.”Another comment summed up the frustration more bluntly, saying power cuts aren’t just an occasional problem anymore – they’ve become part of daily life, much like rising food prices and people cutting back on essentials.And perhaps the most biting remark? That calling a two-hour outage a “cap” feels almost funny when many areas reportedly deal with power cuts stretching well beyond that.Safe to say, while the government calls it load management, the internet is calling it something else entirely.
