Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif has apologized to the nation for the unscheduled and prolonged hours of loadshedding throughout the country.

Addressing a joint press conference with State Minister for Water and Power, Asif said that the demand of electricity stood at 19,000MW against the production of 12,000MW. He said the government will have to take immediate measures to stop power theft and line losses to overcome the crisis.

He feared that the nation may have to face the same situation if the weather remains hot and dry for which the government was apologetic. Federal minister said the PML-N-led government was trying to add 6-7,000MW of electricity within two to three years in the system.

He further explained that nine power plants were shutdown due to hot weather because of which 1300MW were not supplied to the grid stations.