Nothing flustered me during my recent visit to Karachi more than the electric load shedding there. Studying late night for my Ph.D. entrance test with the help of candle lights didn't upset me, but the thought that my fellow Pakistani brothers and sisters were suffering this inconvenience daily made me sick. If lack of safety and security was bad enough, the economic crisis has made life worse in Pakistan. People were on the streets to protest against the load shedding problem across the country. The agony multiplied when people received electricity bills nearly twice the amount they received earlier. In these pressing times, people are doing all they can to save power. A man told me that all of his family members spend time in one room, the TV lounge, and turn off lights in all other rooms to save electricity. They were even sharing bed rooms. The load shedding has also affected businesses especially the small ones. According to The News, almost 25 percent of small traders in Karachi have shut down their businesses. This has also increased unemployment. The losses small traders face for every hour of load shedding amount to Rs.1.13 billion. The small and medium sized industries that do not have their own power generating plants were forced to reduce their working staff. Some traders announced they would not pay the electricity bill for the month of October. They said the government allowed the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to increase electricity tariff by 70 percent, which will drastically increase the cost of production and eventually hit their business hard. Sindh Minister for Industries Rauf Siddiqui assured industrialists that the KESC will not be allowed to disconnect power supply for those who do not pay the bills. Adding to the problem are illegal connections all over the place. Large number of illegal connections can be seen on electric poles. People using hooks to steal power supply are equally responsible for the crisis. Entire neighborhoods are using stolen electricity in Karachi, which was once known as ‘the city of lights'. While the poor use hooks, the rich and elite bribe meter readers to ensure their monthly bill does not exceed a certain meager limit. Others use powerful magnets to alter meter readings. As long as corruption continues in the government sector, no innovative ideas can bear fruit. People are complaining that the KESC is collecting bills of electricity thieves from the pockets of responsible citizens. The current muddle can only be solved if people unite, but opposition parties like Jamaat-e-Islami is supporting protesters to weaken the government. However it should be noted that such protests for power supply were never seen during the previous regime. Despite the alarming situation, government officials have hardly appeared to clarify the situation. Public has still not understood the reasons for the massive power cuts. Power cuts in northern Pakistan is usually not witnessed during October as the local power supply is quite sufficient in this season. Some experts say the authorities have decreased the water in Mangla and Tarbela dams, among the largest dams in Pakistan, causing the reduction of the Hydroelectric generation. The reason, they say, for water cutback is to facilitate sowing of wheat for Rabi Crops. Tarbela, one of the largest dams, provides 9MAF of water for irrigation and produces 15 billion KWH of electric units per year. Tarbela and Mangla were both built in mid seventies. Another reason for the current electric load shedding is pecuniary matter. The production of electric energy through oil and gas is pricey. Hence, the use of oil in Pakistan for generating electricity is proving costly. Since government authorities did not have enough funds to buy sufficient oil, they were unable to meet the demand. Consequently the government stopped subsidizing electricity to meet their expenditure, which ultimately led to the increase in electricity charges. However, the price of oil has seen a dramatic drop in recent months, but experts say that oil is still a costly option for Pakistan to produce energy. The easy way to produce cheaper electricity is constructing more dams. Pakistan has a lot of resources to built more dams but political hurdles are blocking development in this area. Pakistan should tackle this issue at the earliest because it is connected with economic prosperity. Pakistan's stability should be a matter of concern for the United States and its Western allies. But the allies of the war on terror have refused to support the country financially. World Bank has also stopped the $300 million loan to Pakistan due to objections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). If Pakistan had received this loan, it could have raised four billion dollars within 30 days, which would have been sufficient to save itself from a disaster. It is interesting to note that despite Pakistan's sacrifices and key role in the war on terror, the world's promoters of democracy are turning away from providing any support to stabilize the country. __
