As a matter of fact, Pakistan is a country that has struggled to find effective solutions to its challenges since gaining independence. Load-shedding is one of Pakistan’s main issues, but during the past 20 years, it has gotten worse. While other nations around the world are becoming more enlightened, Pakistan is still in the dark. Hearing that Pakistan is an atomic power but couldn’t solve this problem even in the twenty-first century makes me feel very uncomfortable.
The country’s growing population is the main contributor to this problem’s rising need for electricity, which the government has been unable to meet. An estimate from the sources claims that our nation requires between 22,000 and 24, 000 megawatts of electricity, and that this need is growing at a rate of about 5% each year. Unfortunately, Pakistan can currently only produce up to 1800 megawatts of energy. Maybe the government said it would generate more, but the truth is a little bit different.
Why has Pakistan been unable to resolve this problem? There are several causes for it, some of which include:
Increasing petroleum costs/lack of affordable fuel:
There are two sources of electricity: imported oil and natural gas. The cost of oil makes it unaffordable for power producers, so they focus mostly on natural gas. However, in the modern era, natural gas is also scarce, which reduces production capacity. Pakistan has a plenty of coal, but they are not using it effectively because of a lack of knowledge.
High demand for electricity:
We live in a modern era where electronic devices are ubiquitous and the biggest electricity consumers. In spite of using a lot of electricity, many government buildings, including General Assemblies, frequently ignore their utility bills.
Continual Debts:
In Pakistan, electricity theft is a widespread issue that may be readily solved by anyone. Even though the government provides a subsidy to the power supply company, it is insufficient for them to make up for this significant disadvantage. At the moment, theft is stealing 20–30% of the electricity used, making control extremely difficult.
Lack of fresh project formation:
Pakistan lags behind the majority of other nations in the globe in terms of technology. The government is not interested in learning about new projects that will increase production, which is the same problem with power projects. Every elected government has mostly concentrated on non-development initiatives like laptop programmes, etc.
One of the most cost-effective ways to generate electricity is through hydropower, yet the current administration completely disregards this concept. Parvez Musharraf previously worked on it, but the subsequent administration was unable to continue it. By constructing hydropower, solar, and wind power plants, all developed nations—including China, America, Germany, and even India—are producing a significant portion of their own electricity. These projects should be installed across the nation by the government because they are affordable, reliable, and durable.
