The Hindu : National : Energy-saving drive leaves Pakistanis angry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 19, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Energy-saving drive leaves Pakistanis angry

People desperately shopping for alternatives

In the throes of a major power crisis
Daylight saving time idea “a gimmick”

ISLAMABAD: What’s noisy, smelly, and whose prices are increasing by the day in Pakistan? Generators.

Reeling under daily power cuts of between five to 18 hours, Pakistanis are desperately shopping for alternatives, from emergency lights to battery-operated fans, while the more affluent seek out generators and invertors.

As the summer temperatures have risen, so have the prices of these items, helped along by the sliding value of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar.

A petrol-run generator that cost Rs. 17,000 in February is now selling at Rs. 26,000. Shopkeepers offer no guarantees for the Chinese made generators named after famous Japanese brands that are flooding the market. Instead, they advise customers to buy as quickly as possible or face even higher prices.

With people hoarding candles, even the poor man’s electricity alternatives have got pricier, that is if people can find them at all on shop shelves.

Pakistan is in the throes of a major power crisis, with the demand an estimated 4000 MW more than the available 9,000 MW. The new PPP-led government says it was brought on by the failure of its predecessor to add “even one megawatt” of power generating capacity during its eight-year tenure.

The crisis has suddenly caught up with Pakistan, and for the first time, even the privileged have not been spared power outages. In the capital, power cuts come every three hours in the less important sectors, and at least three times a day in the others. Across the country, the government has resorted to five to 12 hours of load shedding a day, affecting industry and businesses aside from people’s daily routines.

Slew of measures

Last week, the government announced a slew of energy-saving measures, including switching to daylight saving time for three months from June 1, which means clocks will be advanced by one hour to take advantage of summertime’s longer days.

Other measures, also to be implemented from next month, include shutting down shops by 9 p.m., shutting them altogether on Fridays and keeping them open on Sundays, so people will shop during the day on a holiday rather than in the evening.

As a token gesture, the air-conditioning will come on only at 11 a.m. in government offices. Another proposal to have two-weekly holidays was rejected.

Limited support

But the measures have won limited support. Shopkeepers are protesting that shoppers tend to venture out only late in the evenings during the summer months. Some have pledged to defy the new closing time when it comes into force. Others want guarantees that there will be no load shedding during the day.

The delayed air-conditioning hours in offices has been dismissed as a gimmick, and letter writers in the newspapers are blasting the government for once again coming up with the daylight saving time idea, which was tried before in 2001 without success.

People are describing it as an ill-advised move. Pakistan has 14 hours of day light in the summer, and they want the government to take advantage of it by changing the working hours instead of fiddling with the clocks. One letter-writer complained that it would cause confusion about the time, and interfere with religious routine by pushing back the time of the last prayer to 10 p.m.

The government has also announced some long-term measures, such as floating tenders later this month for fast-track generation of additional power supply. But officials are saying it will take at least a year and half for new plants to become operational and plug the shortfall.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during his visit to Pakistan earlier this month that his country would supply 1,100 MW of power to Pakistan. The Iranian Energy Minister is to visit Pakistan later this month to discuss this proposal.

Tagging Instructions: 1. Type the points. 2.Select every point and then apply "infobox_subhead" tag.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National