Energy is an essential component of the growth and development of the economy. It is due to this fact that all governments in the world strive to ensure that the energy availability within their nations meets their needs and requirements (UKERC, 2012). This is due to the fact that each and every industry within the economy requires energy in one form or anther.
As Ahmad (2009) asserted, energy is the backbone which growth and development are based upon. Industry, agriculture, transportation, education and the service industry all require energy to ensure that all their operations are conducted effectively and efficiently. Therefore, it will be difficult for a nation that is not able to meet its energy requirements to achieve its short term and long-term goals and objectives (Peters, 2010).
In history, man has come up with a lot of discoveries and innovations. This has transformed the manner in which we operate, interact with each other and interact with ourselves. The life that we are currently in highly depends on technology. Therefore technology is the basis on which the worlds economy thrives upon (ElBaradei, 2012).
The origin of modern technology can be traced back to the era of industrial revolution in Europe. It is during this time that a lot of discoveries and advancement were made in the field of industry. During this period, man came up with a variety of machines and mechanisms that replaced the human effort in the process of production in terms of labour.
These machines were more effective and efficient and hence, the process of production was enhanced. It is due to this fact that goods were produced more cheaply in bulk in order to meet the market demand. As a result of high efficiency in production and reported high sales, economic growth was experienced. The standards of living of people have been improved and the GDP of nations also increased (ElBaradei, 2012).
However, in the process of industrial revolution, a key ingredient was responsible for the success that was being experienced at that time. This was energy. The availability of energy was and still is an essential ingredient of the production process. From this realisation, man has always strived to come up with cheaper and better alternative sources of energy.
A lot of money is spent on research and development programs in a bid to come up with cheaper, better and safer sources of energy (Iqbal, 2012). During the industrial revolution, the most common source of energy was coal. However, with advancements in technology, other sources of energy have been realised.
At the present moment, the most common source of energy that is used in the world is electricity (Iqbal, 2012). However, due to its demand, the availability of this form of energy has been declining over the last decade.
Pakistan is one of the nations that has been experiencing power shortages. For the last several decades, the country has been experiencing oil, gas and electricity shortages. All the regimes that have come to power have always promised to come up with a solution to this predicament.
In the process, these governments have come up with policies and plans to end the energy crisis in the nation but none of these goals or objectives have ever been realised. However, this situation has become worse within the last four years. This has mainly been triggered by the changing weather patterns in the globe and the rise in global oil prices.
At the same time, the situation has been made worse during this period that Musharraf is in office (Ahmad, 2009). Several allegations have been linked to this government in terms of misappropriation of public funds and corruption (Ahmad, 2009). As a result, it has been difficult for the nation to meet its short term and long-term goals and objectives.
It is due to this fact that the nation has been unable to meet its power demands and more importantly being unable to enhance its electricity production activities. Therefore, the nation has been experiencing massive blackouts. This situation has become even worse within the last four years. The increase in population and the rising level of urbanization have made the situation to become even worse (Ahmad, 2009).
This has made the nation unable to meet its ever-increasing demand for electricity. As a result, it is common for urban areas to experience blackouts for more than 8 hours a day (Ahmad, 2011). The situation is even worse in rural areas since power blackouts last between 12-16 hours in a day.
In recent years, violent protests have emerged as a result of retaliation to the power crisis that the nation is experiencing. In 2010, violent protests emerged in several parts of the nation, especially major cities of Pakistan in retaliation to the power blackouts and insufficient availability of energy in the nation (Ahmad, 2011). These violent acts led to arsons and looting in the regions that were affected.
Despite of these acts, the government has still been reluctant in improving the situation. This resulted into the reoccurrence of similar situations in 2011 (Ahmad, 2011). At the same time, several business entities have been shut down due to this predicament.
As Ahmad (2011) asserted, due to the unavailability of power during business operating hours of the say, small and medium scale businesses in major cities have found it hard to keep their operations going due to the lack of electricity.
Most of these businesses that have been shut down are in the service industry that relies mainly on power for their operations (Davis, 2011). This has left thousands of people jobless; a heavy blow towards achieving economic sustainability.
According to Ahmad (2009), by 2009, Pakistan had a power deficit of approximately 3,500 mega watts (MW). On the other hand, industries that have been shut down accounted for approximately 1,500 to 2,000 MW. Therefore, the total power deficit that the nation was experiencing as per 2009 was around 5,000 MW.
According to analysts, this figure was expected to rise in the coming years if the government do not take corrective measures to resolve the situation. As per the present moment, the ministry of Water and Energy and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has not come up with means through which electricity production within the nation can be boosted.
Therefore, the situation is expected to become even worse given the fact that the prices on oil have always been rising. At the same time, weather patterns have been changing due to global warming. As a result, there has been reduction in rainfall and prolonged dry season. This has resulted in the decline of water in dams where hydroelectric power is being generated within the nation (Zimmerman, 2010).
In order to determine the welfare of people within a community, one of the indicators that analysts use is energy consumption (Ahmad, 2009). The energy consumption per capita is the index that is used to give the required results of such a study with regards to the constrain at hand.
The energy consumption in Malaysia is approximated to be 104MMBtu. At the same time, the energy consumption of Iran is 106MMBtu. The average of Europes electricity consumption as per 2009 was 170MMBtu. During the same year, the words electricity consumption was at 68MMBtu. However, for 2009, the power consumption of Pakistan was at 15MMBtu (Ahmad, 2009).
This made the nation to be ranked among the lowest in the world. Therefore, according to Ahmad (2009), for Pakistan to ensure that it copes with its ever-increasing energy demands, it needs to increase its electrical power output by at least 50% during its short-term period of 2012-2020.
Therefore, for Pakistan to ensure that its economic growth is guaranteed, it needs to ensure that the availability of energy is capable of meeting its mixed demand within the nation. In Pakistan, electricity is mainly used for three major purposes; industrial, commercial and domestic (Ahmad, 2009).
The government is thus expected to come up with sustainable solutions that will ensure that power is available to all these users at an affordable price range (Ahmad, 2009). At the same time, the government needs to ensure that not only the process of power production will be increased but the entire supply and distribution of the resource will be well maintained.
Currently, the major source of electricity in Pakistan is from hydel power. According to (Ahmad, 2009), this is the most economical form that electricity can be generated from in Pakistan. Hydroelectric power is also another alternative. However, given the changing weather patterns and the fact that water levels fluctuate between summer and winter, hydroelectric power production in Pakistan had been reduced by 70% by 2009.
It is due to this fact that the nation is in dire need for an alternative source of power in order to meet its ever-rising demand of power for domestic, commercial and industrial uses (Ahmad, 2009). One of the proposed sources of electrical energy in Pakistan has been from wind power. This source of energy has been advocated for since it is relatively easier to harness.
At the same time, this source of energy is deemed to be environmentally friendly since it does not have any adverse effects on man and the environment in terms of pollution (Ahmad, 2009). These factors have made many people to believe that wind energy is one of the most sustainable sources of electricity in the nation and hence one of the key solutions that should be used to alleviate the energy crisis that the nation is in.
However, from an economical point of view, the costs incurred in producing electricity using this option is much higher as compared to hydel power. While the cost of hydel power is at 6 cents per kWh (kilowatt-hour), the cost of wind energy is estimated to be around 13 cents per kilowatt hour (Ahmad, 2009).
This ideally makes wind energy not the best solution to the current situation. However, despite the fact that wind energy might be an expensive option, it should not be ruled out as a source of alternative energy in the nation since it may be sustainable in the long run given the fact that technological advancement may increase the efficiency of wind power production and reduce the costs at the same time.
Therefore, to ensure that the nation is able to meet its power demands, it is essential for Pakistan to re-check its power mix status. At the present moment, natural gas is the main source that is used to generate electricity in Pakistan at 47%. It is followed by oil at 31%. Hydroelectricity and coal stand at 11% and 10% respectively. Nuclear power forms the lowest proportion as it only accounts for 1.2% (Ahmad, 2009).
The government has always been in talks to revive the energy sector of the nation. Despite the fact that none of the strategies that it has come up with has been implemented, the nations hopes are still held up high by the 2030 energy plan of Pakistan (Ahmad, 2009). According to this plan, the power output of the nation is expected to be increased by more than 60%.
The proposed power mix of this plan in terms of generation of electricity will focus more on the use of coal to replace gas. According to this power mix, the use of coal to produce electricity will be increased by 30% while the use of gas shall decline from 47% to 35%.
At the same time, hydroelectric production is expected to rise to 20% while nuclear power production shall be boosted to 3%. The use of oil shall be reduced to 10%. If effected, this power plan will be effective in ensuring that Pakistan is able to meet its energy requirements.
References
Ahmad, M. 2009, Pakistan energy crisis. Web.
Ahmad, K. 2011, Energy shortage deepens crisis in Pakistan. Web.
Davis, D. 2011, Alternative Source of Energy, Sage, New York
ElBaradei, M. 2012, Tackling the global energy crisis. Web.
Iqbal, S. 2012, energy crisis causes and remedies. Web.
Peters, S. 2010, Sustainable use of resources, Sage, London
UKERC 2012, Energy demand. Web.
Zimmerman, S. 2010, ‘Nuclear Power: The Way Forward’, The Bell Journal of Economics, vol. 1 no. 4, pp. 16-31