Power shortage brings per capita electricity consumption down

An unprecedented power shortage in Pakistan has brought the per capita electricity consumption down to 449 kWh against 2700 kWh in Turkey, 4250 kWh in Malaysia and 13,250 kWh in USA. The power sector circles have maintained that one major reason of low per capita electricity consumption is undue delay in completion of hydropower projects due to political controversies.
According to these circles, there is an urgent need to add over 40,000 megawatts to improve the per capita electricity consumption to 1000 kWh in next 10 years. This can only be achieved if 10,000 megawatts each is contributed by the public hydropower, private hydropower, nuclear and thermal (gas and coal) generations respectively. Furthermore, a total investment of US 100 billion dollars will be required to achieve the target.
This gigantic task, said the industry circles, is not easy to achieve due to political and financial constraints.
It may be noted that the Punjab government has left no stone unturned to invite the private sector for power generation through coal in the recent past. However, all such efforts are proved futile due to a lacklustre approach of the private sector as well as a weak transport system to fetch coal from Port Qasim to upcountry destinations, sources added.
Similarly, the Punjab government has announced a solar power project in the Southern Punjab. The government has planned to generate 1000 megawatts through solar system. However, no considerable development has so far taken place on ground in the area allocated for laying down infrastructure in the south of Punjab.
Recently, the federal government has vowed to generate electricity through liquefied natural gas (LNG). The first shipment is likely to touch Port Qasim this week. But still the details are not available to the power sector.
The power sector circles are of the view that dearth of power sector professionals, particularly in the private sector, is another big reason behind the snail pace developments on the front of electricity generation. They said the government should engage the best available resources, either serving or having retired from public sector, to expedite the generation process.