Load Shedding in Pakistan
LOAD SHEDDING IN PAKISTAN Objective: To identify the factors involved that cause’s severe load shedding in Pakistan and to recommend the best approach to solve and how to get rid of this problem. Summary: At present, Pakistan is facing severe load shedding approximately 12 hours a day in villages and 8-10 hours in urban areas. The load shedding of electricity has become a routine matter in the country. Electric energy is of utmost importance for the survival of modern life. Prosperity of the country is linked with supply of energy. Electricity is needed in every sector of modern life. The whole world is progressing day by day but Pakistan is moving towards opposite direction. Pakistan had a total installed power generation capacity of 21,000 MW in 2011. However, dependable or de-rated capacity is in the range of 14,000 to 16,000 MW during the year, due to variety of factors, whereas demand for electricity is increasing at an average annual rate of eight per cent. And according to World Energy Statistics 2011, published by IEA, Pakistan’s per capita electricity consumption is one-sixth of the World Average. World average per capita electricity Consumption is 2730 kWh compared to Pakistan’s per capita electricity consumption of 451kWh. Forty percent (40%) of Pakistanis still have no access to electricity. International Energy Agency has forecasted that total electricity demand of the country will be 49078MW in 2025. Sources of electricity: We generate electricity from water, oil and gas. The electricity generated by water is always cheap. But unfortunately, we have failed to build dams, which are the main source of storing water and generating electricity. Electricity generated by oil, gas and coal is very costly. There are the several options for generating electricity: 1. Construction of Hydro- dams: Construction of hydro dams are necessary are necessary. We have failed to build dams since 1975, which is considered as the best source