Pitfalls of power

The extent to which the power crisis in Karachi caused the death of over 1200 people in the city during the past week continues to be debated. But the power crisis has certainly been highlighted by the tragedy in Karachi with the role of K-Electric, the privatised company supplying power to Karachi, coming under scrutiny. Information Minister for Sindh Sharjeel Memon attacked KE for causing at least half the deaths that took place. On the other hand the Chairman of the Privatisation Commission, Muhammad Zubair, has praised the body saying it acted as an example for others. But regardless of who is right and who is wrong, the fact is that the power crisis continues. The country now faces a shortfall of 2800MW of electricity. KE announced today that due to the huge shortage of energy, worsened by the fact that the Kanupp plant was not functioning, the power cuts would now be expanded across Karachi – even in the areas previously exempted from them. Following this there have been media reports that the head of KE, Tabish Gauhar, had resigned followed by other senior officials of the organisation. There have been reports, though, of KE denying there have been any resignations.
But apart from what is happening at KE and the politics involved in this, with the Sindh and federal government both leveling accusations at each other, the fact is that the energy crisis is very real. The problem will not go away soon. In response to the national crisis, textile plants in Punjab have voluntarily agreed to cut down their hours of operation in order to save electricity. There are indications that other sectors may follow suit. But the reality also is that power shortage has had an extremely negative impact on industry and there is a limit to how much can be done to help out in these circumstances. There is, however, an obvious need for emergency action to be taken. The central and provincial governments, rather than entering into a power tussle need to work out how this can be achieved. Temperatures in the country are likely to remain high for some weeks to come. The humidity is also rising. It is important in these times for politicians to remain cool and clearly think out the options. The controversy over KE will not help at a time like this. Instead we need a strategy that can help us cope with the enormous shortfall in electricity at a time when demand is at the highest and domestic consumers need power badly. The promises of the federal government are not being met and this is something it needs to reflect on as it attempts to come up with a solution.