Loadshedding agony

Among the many challenges the new government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is faced with, loadshedding of electricity is one – and quite serious at that. People across the country are braving marathon sessions of power outages amid terribly high temperatures – and that too during the holy month of Ramazan.

With the demand-supply gap rising to a massive 8,000 megawatt, Prime Minister Shehbaz took notice of the agonising absence of electricity for as many as 14 hours, in some cases. In some quick action, the PM got re-operationalised 20 of the 27 power generation plants that had been lying idle for around a year due to diesel shortage. He also ordered diversion of gas from fertiliser plants to power generating units as well as repair of the out-of-order power plants on a fast-track basis. Besides, international tenders for purchase of six cargoes from LNG spot market — three each for May and June – have also been floated.

While Shehbaz, who has a reputation of a doer, has directed the authorities to rid the country of the menace of loadshedding by May Day – meaning within days literally – it is hard to expect something like that happening in the near term. In fact, contrary to the claims, K-Electric has increased the duration of loadshedding in Karachi by two hours, saying that fuel shortage has affected its generation capacity. And power-starved consumers in many parts of the country continue to vent their anger by hitting the streets in protest.

While the steps announced by the PM may provide some temporary relief to people, the government is required to devise a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the longstanding problem on a permanent basis. After all, an uninterrupted supply of electricity is essential for keeping the wheels of industries, agriculture and commerce going. With the country struggling to come out of a deepening economic crisis, the loadshedding of electricity for such long hours is certainly not helpful.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2022.

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