Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed to end load-shedding in the country by the 1st of May after resolving all the issues, Aaj News reported on Tuesday.

Chairing a high level meeting in Islamabad regarding announced and unannounced power outages, he said the people cannot be put into trouble due to load-shedding in the summer season.

The premier directed the authorities concerned to evolve a sustained and smooth mechanism of fuel supply and that in the summer season, advance planning of one month be done.

The prime minister also sought a long term effective plan to end the losses of loss making power distribution companies.

Shehbaz took notice of complaints of artificial shortage of diesel during the harvesting of crops and directed that those creating artificial shortage must be identified and action taken against them.

He directed the authorities concerned to ensure an uninterrupted supply of diesel to the farmers to operate the agriculture-related machinery. He said district administration in rural areas should make sure that the farmers do not face any difficulty in getting diesel.

The meeting was informed that out of twenty-seven powerhouses shut over the last more than one year, twenty have been made functional. Resultantly, power generation has increased.

The meeting was informed that the previous government did not ensure timely provision of fuel to operate the powerhouses. Other factors of load shedding were the criminal negligence meted out to timely repair and maintenance of powerhouses. The present government not only arranged fuel in a matter of two weeks but the issue of load-shedding is also being addressed by increasing the electricity generation.

It was informed that the total power generation has reached 18500 megawatts. In terms of demand, there is a shortfall of 500 to 2000 megawatts.