This unexpected crisis makes it clear that mismanagement is common in organisations that make up our energy sector
RAWALPINDI: The crippling shortage of petrol and the countrywide blackouts have posed a grotesque picture of the way in which the energy sector in Pakistan is being managed. The recent collapse of the power grid in the wee hours of January 25 has exacerbated the situation. The problem occurred in a far-off location in Balochistan, but directly impacted routine life in other parts of the country. This unexpected crisis makes it clear that mismanagement is common in organisations that make up our energy sector. The supply of electricity and power does not seem to go in parallel with the demand created by the growing population of the country coupled with expansion of industries and technology.
Taking all this into consideration, structural reforms are mandatory for getting maximum benefit from the available resources using technological and scientific knowledge. To counter this ongoing electricity shortage and the rising demand in the power sector, rigorous work in reforming the energy policy is needed. It is the need of the hour to work on renewable and alternative energy resources as Pakistan has immense potential to create energy from wind and solar sources.
According to some experts, Pakistan has the potential of generating electricity from wind energy ranging from 10,000MW to 50,000MW. However, no tangible work has been done to get maximum benefit from wind resources. If the government cannot take such measures to work on wind and other similar resources, it should take help from the private sector and collectively work for the national cause.
By taking into account the current crisis in the energy sector, a long-term energy policy must be formulated to cater to this. Depending on thermal energy alone will not solve the issue at hand as the poor people of our country are not in any position to bear the costs of expensive thermal power.
Asim Anwar Mughal
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2015.
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