Zulqarnain Samo
Power lack is a major issue experienced by the general population of Pakistan. The extreme load shedding is turning into a distress and annoyance for the citizens. It causes interruption in all circles of life. It not just hinders the development and improvement of the nation however is a continuing issue which has not been controlled by any of the nation’s past or present politician. Once in a while we see the government officials making false statements about this issue. By their statements they always promise to people that the issue of load shedding will soon be overcome. However, no changes have been witnessed in past few years by the people. Despite what might be expected, the issue is deteriorating with each passing day. Reasons behind Load Shedding Being an economic reform platform, RAFTAAR (Research and Advocacy for the Advancement of Allied Reforms) presented the causes of power shortage. Along with highlighting this issue, they also presented effective solutions to overcome this issue. Solutions provided by RAFTAAR may require some government support. Meanwhile the main cause of power shortage is the heedless use of electricity.According to RAFTAAR, it is assessed that about 25% of the energy is consumed by family unit machines. The consumption of the energy mainly depends upon the product quality or the way appliance is being used.In a research made by RAFTAAR, it was stated that about 17% of the energy can be saved. Due to vitality protection and proficiency measures, the ratio of energy consumption can be minimized.In a statistic presented by Asian Development Bank it was presented that about one fourth of the energy being utilized by home appliances get wasted. The reason behind this wastage of energy is the use of old appliances, because old appliances require more energy to work properly.Effects of Load Shedding Students are one of those people who are most affected by power shortage issue. Due to excessive hours of power shortage, their study routine got disturbed. More of their time got wasted. The issue turns out to be more terrible amid the long stretches of summers. Usually summer is the time when students show up for their final exams so they got distracted and failed to focus due to extreme warmth. This issue occurs at home and in school hours.Due to extreme load shedding the industrial sector of Pakistan has also endured a great loss. Their productivity failed due to excessive hours of power shortage. As all large industries depend on heavy machineries run by electricity, so due to breakage in power, production is reduced. As machinery gets stopped, workers sit free for long hours. To cope with this problem companies usually use generators to run machinery. However, introducing generators expand the total cost of production. Solutions to Overcome Load Shedding Issue Personal solutions to energy crisis: To overcome power shortage issue people have installed UPS in their houses. According to RAFTAAR the estimated ratio of UPS in used, is equal to the total number of people living in Balochistan.In commercial zone, organizations introduce generators to cope with load shedding. The consolidated limit of the generators introduced in the nation is more than the national power supply of the nation, which is 17,000 Megawatts.According to RAFTAAR, the issue with the expanding number of generators and UPS being installed in organizations and at homes respectively, is that the power supplied by these machines is inefficient as compared to that, provided through the national grid.Use of renewables as an alternative: Another solution to overcome power shortage is to produce electricity through renewable energy products. As per RAFTAAR, the country had potential to produce about 120,000 Megawatts of wind energy.China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) venture displays an extraordinary chance to team up with the Chinese sustainable power source items. As China drives the world with regards to sustainable power sources with the creation of around 140 Gigawatts of energy through sun based and wind energy, so it’s a better opportunity for Pakistan to work for this company and overcome the electricity issue.
