The Pakistani Spectator

The power supply continues to become a rare luxury by each passing day as summers look to their zenith. With an ever-increasing number of off-hours, the trend seems to be tipping the strenuous end, creating a hell for the masses in the 50-somethings centigrade. While at one side, loadshedding occurs at the pretext of excessive usage on high-mercury days, it’s not much different in the rainy hours when light takes a break as soon as the rain commences. One may be less anguished over this, for the monsoon rains have a good knack of keeping the temperatures moderately low – however, that shouldn’t be an excuse for the poor electric supply system which starts fire-works as soon as a strong torrent of rain or wind strikes across it, exploding transformers oftentimes and causing a lot of inconvenience, sometimes in the form of power cut for deca-hours at end.

The worst comes off at Karachi where KESC fails miserably, despite its high-sounding claims each year, to bridge the gap between the demand and supply, which seems only to be increasing exponentially. What’s more, the recent spell of rains at Karachi has exposed entirely the acuteness of the problem, where people had to spend as long as 48 hours and more at end with absolutely no electric supply.

Domestic users aside, it’s unfortunate that our economy, too, rests directly upon this power supply – or at least a greater part of it, especially small-scale industries unable to afford a self-sufficiency in power-production like larger industries and hence, having to cope up with absolutely random, untimely and infrequent loadshedding episodes which may shut down the work at any hour of the day. And as if that was not enough, thanks to the age-old, poorly-kept transformers and worn-out wires installed for the supply, the fluctuation in the voltage efficiently looks to the rest of the part, malfunctioning machines and busting electric equipment whenever there’s a respite from loadshedding.

The question is who is responsible for it and what is the solution? As to the former, a fairly simple list of all the previous governments may be somehow contained under the ‘responsible’ tag, having not realized a problem of such a vital importance and having refused to be at the helm of affairs regarding power-production. Not only did they practice negligence in this matter but also cowed down to political dramas whenever there was indeed a real effort to go for a long-term solution for the problem by building dams. Those on the opposition benches in the previous governments, particularly from Sindh and Balochistan can’t be spared of the charge either since they’ve always worked efficiently to thwart any plans whatsoever which may aid in building Kala Bagh Dam, a vital need of the day for the country. The intervening political ambitions had been too good for them as compared to the needs of the nation and hence, the matter stays in cold-room, and shall be retrieved only when there’d be a need for some more political drama on the national scene.

Meanwhile, the work on other dams continues on a slothful pace, making one doubtful of their usefulness even in the coming years, let alone in the immediate days. Diamer Bhasha Dam, one we have been listening for quite some time now, is still on the papers and God knows how many more years it needs be on the papers before going real and be of some significant importance in producing electricity.

While violent outbursts pretty much summarize the popular sentiment found among the masses who have been listening to empty promises of a reduction in loadshedding, facing a circumstance only diametrically opposite in effect, government officials busy themselves in issuing statements actively, once again hollow words only. Only once some site-work starts at the claimed dams and a power-production is actually contributed by the said projects in governmental statements shall an average citizen be fairly assured of it’s seriousness in tackling the problem which has been hovering over the country’s domestic and industrial life for many years, growing much more grave only recently.

The 3000-megawatt shortage, even if covered by the on-going projects in the next year, wouldn’t be of much use for the gap would be much greater next year – it’s like planning for the past in future, which obviously is no use since the whole thing stays the same, albeit slightly different in manifestation with government having lots of political points to score after having completed those projects which seem as futile as nothing in the long-run. Mr. Kaira’s statements claiming a doubling of the present 15000-something megawatt power-supply by the end of 2014 still have five years to see to their fulfillment. Meanwhile, what would help the nation’s economy more is a part to be played by government officials, particularly MNAs, MPAs and above all, ministers, who may cut usage of their innumerable multi-ton air-conditioners installed in whatever place they have the slightest chance of going to, in their daily course. A strict policy regarding the electricity usage in government sites, since they have a notorious reputation of having an atatitude of ‘mal-e-muft, dil-e-bayreham’ when utilizing equipment at official buildings may also help regulate the power consumption.

Moreover, the loadshedding, even when it’s inevitable , must be standardized, with specific hours mentioned before-handedly for it – and shall be distributed evenly through the populace, shunning the policy of pressing the poor, at one hand, to the brink of torture and at the other, returning the supply to the posh-areas before their UPSs would deplete.

The recent accounts of government officials’ meetings with WB representatives and having submitted to their demands of a cut in subsidy on electricity and an increase in power tariff, some 25% by the last quarter of 2010, are also a cause of distress, revealing the acuteness of the need to rid dependence on international money-lenders to an extent where they can dictate national policies to the government.

There are, however, absolutely no chances for a rescue from the present energy crisis this summer and while sweltering heat is an undesirable trait for the masses in present day, so is the rain, with nothing to cherish about it but overflowing sewerage and sparking transformers, resulting in hours of loadshedding. The notion of summer rains has ceased to be a romantic one – and the desire of one must’ve diminished considerably, thanks to WAPDA and KESC.