Pakistan is expecting a streak of power outages as the war in the Middle East chokes its supplies of liquefied natural gas, just as it prepares to host the next round of peace talks between Iran and the US.
The country’s power shortfall touched 4,500 megawatts on Wednesday evening, a time when demand typically peaks, according to the power ministry. That’s about a quarter of total demand.
The South Asian country is facing its biggest energy crisis in years as the war in Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, while Qatar was forced to halt exports at the world’s largest LNG plant after attacks in early March.
The ministry has warned that load shedding, or rolling blackouts, has expanded b…
The South Asian nation procures nearly all its liquefied natural gas, which it uses for power production, from Qatar. Pakistan is considering scouring the spot market for more expensive alternatives. Still, prices would need to decline for the fuel to become affordable, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The crunch comes as Pakistan brokers negotiations between war rivals in the Middle East, with Washington signaling that the next round of talks may also be held in the country.
