Summers in Pakistan are always subject to several pitfalls with regards to power and electricity supply. The power crisis hit its peak in June this year, with load-shedding extending up to several hours at a stretch in different cities. However, the government appears to have understood the issue of seasonal adjustments and has introduced several policies for electricity and power supply. Energy Minister Hammad Azhar stated recently that a proposal was being moved for seasonal energy pricing for domestic and commercial consumers to encourage power consumption during off-peak months. This includes seasonal adjustments in electricity prices, a package for domestic and commercial consumers and reduction of capacity payments.
Seasonal differences are a root cause behind the electricity dilemma in Pakistan. In winter months, the electricity demand drops to less than 10000 MW against the installed capacity of 33000MW, which creates the issue of capacity payments that are unaffordable especially for idle power plants. With burdensome capacity payments, power plants are discouraged to continue the supply, leading to extreme shortages when demand shoots up as the summers roll around. These new packages appear to be generating results—the country reported an all-time high-power generation and transmission of 24,467MWs in a single day last month.
However, it is to be seen whether these investments will indeed be smart decisions in the future. This is a problem which requires far more introspection than just government spending and subsidies—instead of supply, which can only temporarily be kept at bay, the demand model in the Pakistani market needs to be transformed. Low demand months require solutions and the government must figure out a way to shift demand from gas to electricity in the winters, as the former is already in short supply. This requires a shift in the heating ecosystem of the country, which with evolving technology and a global shift from gas, is not an impossible task.​
Source: Published in The Nation