PEW raises energy crisis concerns

Praises govt for placing it on high-priority list.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) praised the government for placing high priority on the energy crisis despite the prevalent political turmoil.

With the current government pursuing a number of power projects, the PEW was quick to shower praise.

“Well-being of large number of people in developing countries is negatively affected by very low consumption of energy which is fundamental to improving the quality of life,” said PEW President Dr Murtaza Mughal in a statement.

“Nearly 1.6 billion people still have no access to electricity, which affects all aspects of development including livelihood, access to water, agricultural productivity, health, population levels and education.”

He said that none of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could be met without major improvement in the quality and quantity of energy services in developing countries like Pakistan.

Dr Mughal said the government was expanding access to reliable and modern sources of energy in order to reduce poverty, improve the health of citizens.

Since the absence of energy is not life threatening in most of the cases, energy poverty lacks a well-established poverty line to determine the minimum amount of energy needed for living, which is impeding welfare of masses across the world, he added.

Electric power consumption in Pakistan was last measured at 449.32 kWh per capita, when it ranked 113th globally.

“Household energy consumption rises along with income,” said Dr Mughal adding, “simple access to modern energy does not ensure households are energy non-deficient — consumption, affordability, pricing and reliability are also key factors. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2014.

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