Islamabad (HRNW) Amid the worsening energy crisis, the federal cabinet has approved the restoration of two-day weekly off at public offices, Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The two-day weekend was earlier curt to a single day by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, the information minister said it has been restored under ‘unprecedented circumstances’.
Aurangzeb said the decision would save Rs386 million in the import bill annually.
The minister, who spoke at a news conference in Islamabad, also said that the government was planning to promote work-from-home to conserve energy, adding that the prime minister has formed a committee to work out a work-from-home mechanism for the public sector.
She said the committee would take into account different factors and present its recommendations to the premier following which he would take the final decision regarding it.
The minister said that the government would consult with the stakeholders on the early closure of markets and announce the final decision after it.
She added that the power shortfall in the country currently stood at 4,600MWs as the electricity was not being generated to full capacity. However, she said the government is taking measures to overcome the problem.
She said that the duration of load-shedding across the country would decrease gradually during the month.
Explaining the plan after phase-wise induction of electricity in the national grid, the minister said the duration of power outages from June 6 to 15 would be 3.5 hours a day while it would drop to three hours a day from June 16 to June 24.
Aurangzeb claimed that it would come down to only two hours a day by the end of the month.
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