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Electricity problems dull people’s lives, gears WAPDA into action

by sarah khan

Recently, Lahori nightlife has had a dreary, dark look as frequent power outages have brought it to a near standstill. Lives – domestic and social – have both been affected considerably since the onset of load shedding.

Where usually streetlights would guide speed racers along main boulevards, cars have to now find their way through dim thoroughfares. Where customers would swarm shopping malls and open markets, the shopping centres, like the rest of the city’s public places, are dark and empty.

As part of its efforts to deal with the countrywide power crisis, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has disconnected electricity supply to billboards while alternate streetlight points remain switched off. Electricity is not being provided for ornamental, ceremonial and entertainment purposes or events in the city. To further conserve electricity, WAPDA has ordered markets to close early, which is why power remains suspended in markets between 6:30pm and 7:30pm as well as between 9pm and 9:30pm. To raise awareness among the public, WAPDA has asked consumers to refrain from using energy intensive appliances during peak consumption hours between 5pm and 9pm.

The situation in Lahore’s suburbs is worse. A lot of these areas experience 12 hours of power outages daily.

A shopkeeper at a busy market in Lahore says, “We have to close our shops at 6:30pm because of frequent power cuts. We wait longer for electricity to be restored than it is worth, because a lot of customers have stopped coming to the market at these times.”

People here can hardly plan work, outings, meetings or dinner parties at night. Their social activities have been restricted because of irregular power supply. At home, household chores, schoolwork, primetime TV viewing, food preparation, all have to be put on hold when the electricity goes out several times during the day.

A university student, Usman, complains, “With so much load shedding, it is hard for me or any other student to study at night, which is the only time we have for college work. We have to do research on the Internet as well. If this continues, I will not be able to get good grades.”

An Internet café owner says that he has to shut computers at his shop to avoid damage to the equipment. He also points out that usually people with no Internet access or computers at home visit the café at night but their numbers have decreased in recent weeks.

“I come to the café late in the evenings to chat online with friends. But due to the power cuts, I can’t go there anymore and am left with no other option during my leisure time,” says Abbas, a clerical office at a bank.

Naureen, a sales manager who leads an active social life, says she and her husband have not been able to socialise for the past month. She feels that the nine to five life coupled with power outages is dulling their lives. “We usually visit friends, go for dinners or invite guests over after work. But now we cannot socialise as much because of the power cuts. Even at home its difficult to watch your favourite show without being interrupted by a power outage.”

Moreover, the security situation in the wake of rising suicide bombings and instability in the country demands that the streets remain well lit. The law-enforcement agencies, though vigilant, need certain amenities to carry out their work more efficiently. Yet in the absence of proper street lighting, the police face difficulties guarding against street crime while the public feels insecure taking dark routes or streets.

People, visibly affected by the power load shedding, are increasingly blaming the government and its agencies for poor planning and mismanagement.

On the other hand reporting a 4,000MW electricity deficit, Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) spokesman Tahir Basharat Cheema explained the factors contributing to the power crisis. He informed that canals, providing water to WAPDA power generators, closed for the yearly cleaning on December 25, 2007 – a week earlier than usual.

The simultaneous countrywide gas crisis has also aggravated the power crisis. Exceptionally cold winter this year has increased the demand for gas, which also powers WAPDA generators.

Poor hydrological conditions, also due to the winter, have decreased water levels by 21 to 23 percent.

Still worse, the instability and countrywide shutdown in the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination compounded WAPDA’s energy generating problems.

However, Cheema claims that WAPDA now plans to implement corrective measures that will increase power supply. Detailing the measures, he says that they previously only existed on paper. The Power Privatisation and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), he says, will bring in 12 IPPs that will generate 2,376 MW of electricity between 2008 and 2010.

He also blamed IPPs (independent power producers) for not supplying the amount of electricity it had promised the government, which was entirely relying on them. He said when the crisis had gotten out of control, WAPDA had finally been allowed to generate power.

WAPDA now plans to improve the efficiency of its system to make up for the power deficit. It plans to employ 400MW rental power, 2376MW through PPIB (IPPs), 516MW hydel power generation with the aid of Sarhad Hydro Development Organisation (SHYDO) and 2450MW from WAPDA’s five plants, which will be set up between 2008 and 2010.

Meanwhile, people are resigning to WAPDA’s unscheduled power cuts – a norm during the summer when the electricity consumption rises countrywide. Yet the present frequency of power cuts during the winter has been unprecedented.

Laila Haroon, a businesswoman, says, “This is the first time Pakistan is facing such a major crisis and that too, in the winters. The government should build Kalabagh Dam so that electricity can be produced in greater quantity. It should also keep a strict check on the smuggling or theft of electricity and look for alternative sources of power like solar energy. People should also realise that unnecessary use of electricity at homes needs to be minimised.”

If the energy crisis continues, it will only add to people’s miseries and further disrupt daily lives and businesses. Nonetheless, it seems that whether the situation continues for the rest of the winter or is rectified sooner, people will not need to acclimatise anew to load shedding in the summer. This is the only upside of this gloomy situation.

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