Promise of power

The government seems incapable of taking responsibility for the power crisis that has now caused gas, electricity and petrol shortages. Hot on the heels of Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who blamed the petrol shortages on a combination of increased demand, the sensationalist media and, for some illogical reason, profiteering by beggars, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif came up with his own set of excuses. He blamed the recent power breakdowns on three attacks on power installations, which may have partly caused power breakdowns, including last weekend’s countrywide breakdown. But that doesn’t excuse his ignoring the fact that power plants are running well below their usual capacity and we are unable to purchase sufficient furnace oil because of our burgeoning circular debt. He also had nothing to say about the transmission losses caused by our crumbling infrastructure even though rectifying that problem will be central to overcome mass loadshedding. No one is buying these excuses, least of all credit agency Moody’s which warned our credit worthiness may have to be re-evaluated since the circular debt is straining the budget and hampering our ability to make IMF targets. The best Asif could promise was that the government aimed to end loadshedding by 2017. But many such deadlines have come and gone. Government officials keep setting new targets but do nothing to reach them.
Khawaja Asif did claim the government wouldn’t raise the price of fuel but was careful to avoid promising there would be no electricity price increases either. Since the Economic Coordination Committee has allowed Nepra to raise electricity tariffs we may be in for a shock soon. The government has done nothing to improve its bill collection or increase the supply of electricity. The only tool it has at its disposal is to continue soaking the public with regular price increases. We were told the fall in the international price of oil would be a boon to the country. There may be lower prices for petrol but the pumps are dry. Gas and electricity remain more elusive than ever now that PSO is not being extended any credit. Any bailout for PSO will provide only temporary relief since the government has no solution to prevent circular debt from arising again. Asif did promise there would be no further privatisation for now but that may just be a reflection of the fact that no one wants to buy moribund government enterprises at this time. A year and a half into its rule the government has failed in the one area it was expected to be an improvement on the PPP. Its energy policy is so empty that to call it a policy does injustice to the word.