Essay on Load shedding in Pakistan (Rolling Blackout)

While countries in the west move towards enlightenment, Pakistan is moving towards darkness.
The country suffering at the hands of corrupt politicians and terrorism has much graver problems
and one of them is load shedding. It is the 21st century and there is no electricity in Pakistan!
People are crying their hearts out in front of the government to provide them with the basic
necessity of electricity but the government seems to have no clue about how to solve this
problem.

Energy shortage is the result of the power demand and supply gap. So what causes this gap to
exist is the main question. There are various reasons because of which Pakistan could not create
more electricity which include the rising fuel prices, rising burden of circular debts, lack of
availability of inexpensive fuel, no new power projects being started, poor electricity production
and distribution methods, power theft and nonpayment of electricity bills.

The issue of circular debts is not something new when it comes to energy crisis. When the
circular debts reach their peak the government intercepts by increasing the subsidy given to the
power companies. However this does not provide a permanent solution to the problem because
the subsidies given are not sufficient to pull the power supply companies out of difficulty. At
present only Rs3/kilowatt subsidy is given where as 20-30% of electricity is being stolen and the
electricity bills of government offices remain due for months. This burden is then passed on to
the end consumers in terms of higher prices or excessive amounts of load shedding.

The problem of energy theft is something which needs to be addressed at the governmental level.
It signifies the inefficient law and order situation of the country as the government knowing who
the thieves are still does nothing to catch them. If the government takes strict action against those
who steal electricity then half the problem of power shortages would be solved. There are
various suggestions from across the broad to make power theft a non bailable offence; however
nothing has been done in regard to such suggestions.

Rising fuel costs in the production of electricity are also a major source of concern. Natural gas
and imported oil are the two major components of power production. While imported oil was
always expensive for power producers, the shortage of natural gas has added further to their
miseries. Natural gas always seemed to be in abundance in the country however in recent times
the country has surprisingly faced natural gas shortages too. So the only way out for Pakistan is
to find other sources of energy generation. Coal in the country is in abundance but the lack of
expertise in the country does not allow it to be used in the right direction.

As Pakistan faces several problems, the problem of load shedding too should be given top
priority by the government officials. It's time the politicians start acting in order to solve the
general problems of the people of Pakistan rather than fighting for getting into power and doing
nothing



The load shedding: Problems and Solutions
One of the most important problems faced by people of Pakistan is outage of
electricity. It causes disruption in all spheres of life. Every now and then we see
politician making false promises to general public that the problem of load shedding
will soon be overcome. However, within last 5 years no improvement has been
witnessed. On the contrary, the problem is getting worse with every passing day. The
following article will have a look at the problems created by load shedding and will
recommend few solution to overcome it.
Students are one of the many groups that are affected by the problem of load
shedding. Their studying schedule is greatly disturbed due to the excessive hours of
load shedding. The problem becomes worse during the months of summers and that is
the time when many students appear for their final exams. They can not concentrate
on their studies at school due to intense heat and not a single fan working in a room
filled with students. Similarly, the problem continues at home as well due to which
they are unable to finish their home assignments on time or prepare for upcoming
quizzes and exams.
The industrial sector of Pakistan has also suffered a lot due to the intensive electricity
load shedding. All large industries are capital intensive and rely on heavy machinery
for the production activity which is run by electricity. Due to breakages in electricity,
the production has reduced many folds, workers sit redundant during the hours of load
shedding, and installing of generators has increased the cost of production and
reduced the competitiveness of Pakistan made products in international market.
However, the question that arises is what needs to be done in order to overcome the
menace of load shedding. Pakistan just rely on water for the generation of electricity
whereas it can be produced using other resources as well such as wind, gas, coal etc.
the largest province of Pakistan, Baluchistan, has large untapped reserves of natural
gas and coal which can be used to produce additional electricity in the country and
overcome the problem of load shedding.
As consumers we also need to play our part in reducing the problem of load shedding.
We should try to minimize the use of air conditioners, instead of using all ACs of a
home, all family members can sit in one room and just use a single AC. In addition,
we need to adapt the habit of turning off lights and fans whenever coming out of our
room in order to save electricity. Such small measures can make a huge difference.
Instead of wasting electricity, we should use it wisely. It will not only save our money
on electricity bills but would improve the problem of load shedding.
The problem of load shedding is acute and has created several difficulties for different
groups of people. Government needs to take different measures to overcome it as soon
as possible but at the same time the users of electricity should also act in a responsible
manner to minimize its wastage.
Load Shedding in Pakistan
Electricity is in short supplyin Pakistan, and as a result electric loadshedding, breakdown, power
outages, fluctuations, blackouts, etc, are a common feature in the country. Whether it is summer or
winter, loadshedding is there. Sometimes it is scheduled, while on other occassions it is totally
unscheduled. The latter is the worst because it causes untold problems and hardships to the electricity
dependent community. It can be confidently said that the electric supply has never been reliable at any
time in Pakistan.
There are many factors behind electric loadshedding in Pakistan. These factors include shortage in river
waters, over population, new connections, electric supply to villages, low generation of electricity, fewer
dams, power-theft, line losses,etc,. Then, loadshedding is the result of corruption, inefficiency,
mismanagment and defective planning in WAPDA. Besides, incomplete projects like Kalabagh Dam,
misuse of available resources, no generation from atomic and solar energy, lack of consensus and
contribute to loadshedding.
Loadshedding is a great curse. It brings untold misery people to people belonging to all walks of life
whether they are students, patients, businessmen, industrialists, farmers, labourers, mechanics,
housewives, etc. It brings all economic, agricultuarl and industrial progress to a standstill. The
fluctuation plays havoc with the electric equipments like refrigerators, VCRs, televisions, computers, etc.
The foreign investors shun to invest money in different fields due to loadshedding. Moreover, thefts and
robberies rise during loadshedding at night. In short, loadshedding starts a long episode of helplessness
and frustration.
Pakistan cannot make progress in any field in the presence of loadshedding. Therefore, the government
should take all possible measures to end loashedding from the country. First of all, it should reomve
corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement from WAPDA. Second, new mega dams should be
constructed without further delay. Third, the present available resources should be developed
immediately. Fourth, power should be generated from solar and nuclear energy. Fifth, power-theft
should be stopped forthwith. On the other hand, people should make wise and proper use of electricity.
They should turn to using energy-saving devices. No doubt, such steps can help a great deal in ending
loadshedding from the country.