Pakistan’s domestic political and economic crises and electricity woes are worsening by the day amid a sharp decline the value of rupee and a big rise in global oil prices, which are likely to propel the people to despair as the government has presented a much-anticipated mini-budget in the parliament to make up for the revenue shortfall and its sustain dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The recent increase in energy costs and taxes on essential commodities is enough to give the nation a glimpse into the future, where prolonged blackouts are probably going to stress the country’s industrial and domestic production. The energy crisis has worsened across the world in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which is still grinding and is going to strain international relations and diplomacy in the coming months and years due to the shortage of energy. The crisis has sent shockwaves across the globe as major sources of energy exports are being severely impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to statistics, the current bleak scenario shows that the present energy shortfall of Pakistan is about 7,500 megawatts which subsequently results in power outages spanning from 10 to 18 hours in different areas of the country. The current supply is about 18,000 megawatts and the required supply is 25,000MW. Moreover, the country’s electricity production cost has doubled during the past nine months, which now stands at a staggering $ 15 billion. As the prolonged loadshedding continues to wreak havoc on people’s lives, the energy consumers, including domestic, commercial and industrial sectors in major cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces, have been facing renewed miseries. Every morning citizens wake up with power suspension notifications in the daily newspapers, which reflect on the government’s inability to think out of the box to find both short- and long-term solutions to the power crisis.
The overall situation in the country in terms of power availability does not look encouraging despite the successive deadlines given by the government to rid the nation of the nuisance of loadshedding. In Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, people and business class are reeling under prolonged and unscheduled loadshedding, which has been testing the patience of the people. Citizens say that loadshedding lasts for six to eight hours in most KP cities, including Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and other parts, whereas it lasts for 10 to 12 hours in rural areas.
The duration of loadshedding is longer in areas with high power losses, which means that people in those cities avoid paying inflated bills as they find it difficult to make ends meet. While there may be technical issues impeding power supply to homes and businesses, the inability of the government to fuel various power plants due to a combined effect of costlier oil and depleting foreign exchange reserves is the main reason behind the country’s power woes. The incumbent government instead of agreeing to the harsh conditions of international lenders should realize the difficulties of the people, who have been left in the lurch by the ever increasing cost of living.
