Power woes

Already reeling under the weight of a massive power shortage, the country suffered a body blow on Monday when Mangla dam went off line and the national grid all but collapsed. Outages of up to 18 hours a day were reported from across the country.

Infuriated people took to the streets in large numbers, particularly in Punjab where some protests turned violent. While demonstrations that result in destruction of property cannot be condoned, the outrage felt by long-suffering citizens is understandable. For years now Pakistanis have paid the price for government inaction in the power sector, where ad-hocism and excuses seem to rule.

Life at home has been turned into a living hell for all but the privileged, commerce has taken a huge hit, small-time entrepreneurs are feeling the pinch and factories sit idle these days for prolonged periods, depriving daily-wage earners of a sizeable chunk of their already meagre incomes. Productivity has declined and the economy as a whole is suffering because of a crippling shortage of electricity.

Mangla’s contribution to the grid is massive and a sudden shutdown there was bound to cause major problems. But that just reflects poor planning. Our power-generation capacity is woefully inadequate and there seem to be no contingency plans for unexpected shortfalls. According to Pepco’s managing director, ‘We have lost all sense of the demand and supply situation. The entire system is overstretched … without any contingency [measures in place].’

A similar situation was witnessed in Karachi and other parts of Sindh last month when a storm cut off power supplies from Wapda for nearly two days. Then too there was no backup plan that could have lessened the impact of a sudden power deficit. These are not problems that will go away and must be addressed immediately. link....