Load-shedding in Pakistan — 2026 schedule & how it works
Since NEPRA's 2022 Loss-Based Load Management (LBLM) policy, load-shedding hours in Pakistan depend on your feeder's transmission losses — not the nationwide shortfall. Here's how each of the 5 tiers works, how to find your feeder's category, and where to check daily schedules for every DISCO.
The 5 loss tiers (Loss-Based Load Management 2022)
| Feeder tier | T&D loss | Shedding hours | Typical areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exempt (industrial + zero-loss) | < 10% | 0 hrs/day | SITE, DHA, Cantt, Bahria Town, F-sectors Islamabad |
| Low-loss | 10 – 15% | 2 hrs/day | Urban planned housing societies, most posh areas |
| Medium-loss | 15 – 20% | 4 hrs/day | Mixed old-city + newer neighbourhoods |
| High-loss | 20 – 30% | 6 – 8 hrs/day | Inner-city areas with legacy kunda issues |
| Very-high-loss | > 30% | 8 – 12 hrs/day | Old katchi abadis, some rural feeders |
Feeders that drop below the next tier's loss threshold for 3 consecutive months are moved up. The reverse is also true — theft-heavy months bump you down.
Where to check your feeder's daily schedule
What counts as 'legitimate' load-shedding vs a fault
Not every power cut is load-shedding. NEPRA's Performance Standards classify outages into four buckets:
- Scheduled LBLM: published 24 hours in advance, no compensation.
- Emergency shedding (grid frequency): under-frequency load-shedding when national frequency drops below 49.5 Hz. Restored automatically within 15 minutes.
- Feeder fault / transformer trip: DISCO must restore within 4 hours. Beyond that, consumers are entitled to compensation under NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual.
- Planned maintenance: DISCO must notify 48 hours in advance via SMS to registered mobile numbers. Missing this notice is a NEPRA violation.
If your area saw a > 4-hour outage that wasn't on the schedule and wasn't a nationwide emergency, you can file a Performance Standard complaint through our NEPRA complaint guide. Fine to the DISCO: Rs. 25,000 per incident, compensation to the consumer: up to Rs. 5,000.
Real ways to reduce load-shedding impact
- Rooftop solar with battery: under the 2026 net-billing regime, hybrid systems (solar + Li-ion) pay back in 4–6 years and give you 100% uptime. See our solar payback calculator.
- Right-sized UPS: a 1.2 kVA UPS + 2× 150Ah batteries covers essentials (fans, lights, router, TV) for 4–6 hours. Sizing help in our UPS calculator.
- Petition to move tier: if your feeder qualifies as low-loss but is being shed as medium, RWA/Union Council can file a joint request with metering data. Successful petitions can drop shedding from 4 to 0 hours.
- Report kunda in your area: anonymous complaints via the DISCO app or 118. Once losses drop, the whole feeder gets fewer shedding hours.