What are the electricity problems in Pakistan?

Answer 1

Causes Of Shortage Of Electricity In Pakistan

Introduction:

The country may plunge into energy crisis by the year 2007 due to rising electricity demand which enters into double digit figure following increasing sale of electrical and electronic appliances on lease finance, The shortage in electricity production in Pakistan is worsening day by day which is causing long break downs and load shedding as called by government. The crisis started about a year ago when all of sudden the electricity consumption increased to a point where all the electricity producing sources failed to fulfill the demand. Apparently it is a matter of supply and demand. The gap between the demand and supply resulted in routine load shedding.

Causes:

The country is facing a huge electric power crisis today. This crisis appears insurmountable in the near or even long-term future, unless proper understanding and correct implementation is undertaken on priority basis. The demand for electricity in Pakistan during the winter months actually goes down and this winter has not been an exception. The systemic issues such as the failure to build new dams and Gen. Mushraf Government's inability to add even a single megawatt of new power to the grid during 9 years of his rule, it seems that the present crisis is a result of bad management and the lack of foresight. The total installed capacity of WAPDA and KESC totals around 19,500 megawatts. Almost two third of this power comes from thermal power plants (fossil fuels), one third is generated by water and about 2% comes from nuclear power plants.

Throughout the month of December, the electricity consumption in Pakistan hovered around 11,000 MW, down from the peak levels of 17,500 MW seen in summer. This demand was well within the installed capacity of WAPDA & KESC yet they were only generating a meager one third (6500MW) of their maximum capacity during this period leaving a huge gap between supply and demand. There are two main reasons for this:

1. The water flow from all major dams was halted starting mid December to allow the annual cleaning of canals in January. This action effectively took all the hydro power off line.

2. The thermal power plants were working far below their potential due to the lack of money caused by the circular debt between various government agencies reaching a staggering 400 billion Rupees.

.

Prof Zahid Ali Mangi

D J Sindh Government Science College

Karachi

Answer 2

Lack of capital investment which is also linked to the lack of security for generators and power lines.