1

RESTD

MEASURES TO ERADICATE ENERGY CRISIS

1. Intro. The dawn of 21st century has defined economy as the source of
global power, conversely strong economy is sustained by energy resources. Today
Pak is confronted with numerous challenges out of which energy shortage is the
most daunting. Energy outages have resulted in the economic strangulation and
flight of investment from the cty. Every field of life is adversely affected by the
elec breakdowns and has become the cause of many ills in the society. To
eradicate the energy crisis, there is a need to correctly identify the causes and
take remedial measures at the appropriate lvl.
2. Aim. To analyze the existing elec crisis with a view to recommend
measures to improve the sit.
3. Seq. The subj shall be covered in the fol seq:-
a. Elec generation Stat.
b. Causes of energy crisis.
c. Recommendations.
d. Concl
4. Elec Generation Stat
a. Installed Capacity. Total installed elec generation capacity of Pak is
19505 MW. Various sources used to produce elec are as under:-
(1) Thermal. Installed capacity of 28 IPPs is to produce 12580
MW of elec.
(2) Hydro. 6460 MW of elec can be produced using the hydro
power sources.
(3) Nuc. 464 MW elec can be produced from the Chashma and
Karachi nuc power plants.
b. Existing Elec Demand. Current elec demand is 16,500 MW.
c. Current Elec Generation. Due to various constraints, out of total
installed capacity, only 12,000 MW elec is being produced.
d. Per Unit Cost of Elec
(1) Furnace Oil. 16 Rs per unit.
(2) Hydro. 2 Rs per unit.
(3) Coal. 8 Rs per unit.

RESTD
 2
RESTD

(4) Gas. 4 Rs per unit.

5. Causes of Elec Crisis
a. Circular Debt. Circular debt is caused due to the subsidies given
by govt to provide relief to the elec consumers. Since most of the
elec is produced using furnace oil at the cost of Rs 16 per unit
whereas the same is given to consumer at cost of Rs 8 per unit. Govt
doesn’t pay all the dues to IPPs which in turn don’t pay dues to the
oil supplier i.e. PSO and subsequently to the national oil refinery and
oil import coys. Therefore the circular debt inc, which bars the IPPs to
work on their full capacity and elec shortfall inc.
b. Faulty and Aging Eqpt. The faults erupted in the power houses are
not rectified in time moreover, the deficient spare parts are also not
procured which results in the closure of elec production units. Guddu
power sta is one of the example where one of the unit is not working
due to non aval of spares. Moreover, the aging eqpt also averts the
full elec generation capacity of power houses.
c. Corruption. Corruption in the power sec is at its peak. Jobs are
offered to the incompetent and disloyal indls at the behest of
influential people. Who are incompetent to monitor and regulate the
energy generation/distribution.
d. Theft and Line Losses. Due to non-existence of efficient
monitoring sys, the theft and line losses are on the inc. Same loss is
either paid by the consumers or through the govt treasury.
e. Inefficient Energy Mix. Govt is using the most expensive source i.e.
imported furnace oil to produce elec whereas as the domestic
product i.e. natural gas is wasted by diverging it to the CNG sec.
f. Non Exploration of Altn Energy Sources. Altn energy sources like
biomass, wind and coal resources present in abundance are not
being exploited. Which is another reason for the worst energy crisis.
g. Lack of Dev Planning. No long term planning has been carried out
to address the inc energy needs of the cty. The cheapest energy
source is hydro however due to political row, large dams could not

RESTD
 3
RESTD

be constructed. Moreover, no planning has been carried out to

explore the new oil and gas reservoirs.
h. Lack of Conservatory Measures. Keeping in view the elec
shortfall in the cty, govt has not implemented any conservatory
measures. Resultantly the gap between the elec demand and sup is
inc.
6. Recommendations
a. Short Term Measures
(1) Conservatory Measures. To reduce the gap between the
demand and sup, govt should implement fol conservatory
measures:-
(a) Closure of all business activities by last lt.
(b) Use of ACs in all the govt orgs only during peak hrs of
heat i.e. from 1200 – 1500 hrs.
(c) Education of masses to conserve energy through TV
programmers.
(2) Efficient Energy Mix. To reduce the circular debt bulk of
natural gas be given to the power generation sec instead of
CNG. Fol measures are suggested in this regard:-
(a) Price of CNG be made equivalent to petrol/diesel to
reduce its consumption.
(b) No more license be issued to CNG sec.
(3) Rectification of Faulty Eqpt. Spares for the faulty power
production units be procured on emergency basis so that
power houses can work at their optimum capacity.
(4) Eradication of Corruption. To eradicate corruption from power
sec, only honest and competent people be appointed on key
posts. By employing people on merit the theft cases and line
losses will also be reduced.

RESTD
 4
RESTD

b. Long Term Measures

(1) IP Gas Proj. Pak should fully benefit from the energy resources
of brotherly Muslim ctys. The IP gas proj should be pursued
vigorously so that the inc energy demands can be fulfilled.
(2) Exploration of Oil and Gas Reservoir. A committee be estb by
the OGDCL to explore the new oil and gas reservoirs in the cty.
Tech expertise of China can be sought on the issue.
(3) Smart Metering. Smart meter is an eff device to curb the elec
theft. Price of one unit is Rs 10. 000. The same cost can be
earned back by the govt within six months through
considerable reduction in theft cases. A pilot proj can be
started from one maj city with the help of China.
(4) Exploration of Altn Energy Sources
(a) Shale Gas. This is a form of natural gas which is
obtained from sedimentary rock through hydraulic
fracturing. The tech is field tested and proven. Pak has
adequate amount of sedimentary deposits which can be
used for production of shale gas.
(b) Biomass. Millions of tons of waste and gallons of
water is aval which can be processed to produce elec.
Task can be given to domestic firms to evolve the tech to
process the aval waste to generate the elec.
(c) Solar Energy. Sun rays is an eff way to produce elec.
Throughout the yr in Pak, solar energy is aval in
abundance which should be used to convert the elec. To
provide an incentive to the people to buy solar panels,
govt should reduce the duty on import of solar panels.
(d) Wind Energy. Pak has a long corridor of wind i.e. 80
kms wide from Garo to kati Bandar and 160 km long till
Hyderabad. Govt should attract the foreign investment
for instl of wind mills. The same will generate cheap
elec.

RESTD
 5
RESTD

(5) Construction of New Dams. Fol measures are suggested in

this regard:-
(a) Pri be accorded to construction of Diameer-Basha dam.
(b) Consensus be dev at national lvl to construct Kalabagh
dam for the betterment of the future generation.
(c) Adequate amount be aloc in the budget for the const of
small dams.
(6) Conversion of Power Houses on Coal. Initially coal may be
imported to convert KESC on coal as a pilot proj to reduce the
cost of elec. Conversely, dev work on Thar coal be intensified
so that at the later stage all the thermal power units can be
converted on coal.
7. Concl. Energy crisis has become a serious problem for the sustenance of the
Pak’s eco. Govt and the people would be required to work in hand and glove to
come out of the existing crisis. By implementing the short and long term
measures we can minimize reduce the sufferings of a common man and provide a
boost to the national eco.

RESTD