Another pressing challenge that the coalition government must address is the worsening energy crisis. Despite rising electricity prices, people are facing intense load shedding for several hours in sweltering hot temperatures with no respite. Politicians have failed to provide any solution and have blamed each other for the situation.
The new Energy Minister is of the view that eliminating load shedding is not complete but it can be reduced. Yet, there are reports of 8-12 hours of daily power outages as the shortfall has crossed 7,800 MW and the duration has increased ever since the new government took control. The situation will continue till end June after which the duration of load shedding will be reduced to 3.5 hours daily.
The government has attempted to address the matter by bringing austerity and administrative measures. However, such tokenistic measures are seldom effective and hard to implement. Now the government is mulling on whether to close markets by sunset. The decision will certainly garner a sharp reaction from the business community and provide great inconvenience to the masses. Other measures include restoring the five-day working week and holding meetings virtually but a lot more needs to be done.
The government has blamed the PTI regime for the crisis. PML-N stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbassi even claimed not a single megawatt of energy was added to the national grid in the last three years. The government has maintained the lack of fuel purchase led to shortages which aggravated the situation while many power plants were either closed or are inefficient, producing electricity at high rates.
The cash-strapped government cannot resolve the matter immediately. The power sector is facing structural issues for years that require long-term strategy and investments in energy projects. There is no easy solution to this chronic problem. Citizens should also reduce consumption but their options are limited in scorching summers. Until then, they should brave the long-hours outages adding misery to their lives.
