Power collapse

The tripping of all units of the Guddu Thermal Power Station on May 26 goes to illustrate just how grave our power problem is, with any glitch creating a full-fledged crisis. The collapse at Guddu, due to reasons which are still being investigated with over-loading being the most likely culprit, plunged towns in upper Sindh, including Sukkur, as well as parts of Balochistan and Punjab, into a state of prolonged darkness. With temperatures soaring and, in parts of the country, hovering around the 50 degrees Celsius mark, the suffering of the people was, of course, acute. This is the second time Guddu has fallen apart this week, perhaps a sign of the aging power infrastructure sprawled out across our country. The problem has worsened over the years, with greater and greater load falling on this structure.

It is obvious that the power problem needs to be addressed in a holistic fashion. There are many dimensions to it. That of circular debt and demand exceeding production has already been discussed many times over. There seems to be little doubt the energy crisis has become a key priority for our nation. It has to be addressed as urgently as possible. There is no longer any time to lose. Indeed, the incoming government has made it clear that the issue stands at the apex of those to be solved. How we go about this is still to be seen. A survey of the entire situation is required, so we can fully understand the nature of the problem and then set about putting solutions in place. We have waited far too long to find these solutions and the result is not only severe suffering for citizens and grave disruptions in daily life, but also a hobbling of the economy, leaving it to stagnate still further as machines everywhere come to a halt.

The power situation adds up to a very grave crisis. It is one we need to tackle sensibly, keeping in view both short-term needs as well as longer-term ones, which affect life everywhere in our stricken country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2013.