PAKISTAN’S energy crisis has reached skyhigh proportions. Unfortunately, our politicians are not addressing the issue seriously. Most of them are running away from reality or are pretending not to know what the reality is.

The reality is that no country can survive without water, especially an agricultural country like Pakistan. Our water reservoirs are decreasing badly and our land is being converted into deserts. Most of our development purely depends upon water reservoirs and we have been unable to increase our water reservoirs for more than the last two decades.

On the other hand, India is continuously making dams over rivers entering Pakistan, thus snatching our water.

So in this scenario, we have to increase our water reservoirs as soon as possible to irrigate more and more land and increase production which is necessary for an agricultural country.

By doing this, we will also be able to cope with the energy crisis and save our dying industries. Besides, we can save hundreds of billions of rupees spent on importing oil every year.

You can’t run the country by just printing currency notes and arranging so-called energy conferences. You have to control inflation, energy crisis and food shortage as soon as possible. Now it is time the government and all politicians ‘extended the vision’ through a comprehensive strategy and made wise and courageous decisions. They should sit together and forget which party and province they belong to, and understand what national interest actually is.

This is a serious and sensitive issue and obviously it needs immediate attention. Instead of just giving statements, they should take serious and sincere steps to resolve the issue by producing electricity from different thermal power plants and other natural resources like coal, solar energy, wind energy, and tidal energy to produce megawatts of electricity. Give a developed and green Pakistan to our future generations; otherwise they will never forgive us.

By controlling corruption and theft of electricity, loadshedding can be reduced in Wapda.

However, it is a pity that the government is not capable of working out a solution to the energy crisis by reinstalling old power plant units due to is management.

Electricity is being bought from neighboring countries like India, Turkey and Iran for fulfilling the shortage.

The solution to the energy crisis is the key to resolving every problem in Pakistan because all are inter-connected with the energy crisis.

DILBAR DETHO Shikarpur

Some solutions

EVERYONE talks about energy crisis. In fact, we have an efficiency crisis. It is the same as we have been crying for years that we have a water crisis.

In fact, with just fixing our leaks, making our taps, pipes, showerheads and most importantly, our water-guzzling flushes efficient, we could save over 60 litres per household which will be enough to provide essential water to the poor and needy.

All this is possible within three months. The water board gives employment to thousands and charges the consumer for services rendered on their next water bill.

Coming to the electricity crisis, the government at its recent meeting in Islamabad came to the conclusion that inefficiency is the major cause for our energy crisis.

On May 15 I sent a report to the government titled ‘Energy efficiency combined with nanotechnology to make energy conservation work, reducing the demand by 30 to 40 per cent’

It is with the ministry of water and power for ‘views/comments.’

Nanotechnology is used by Nasa and is the science of the future, making the impossible possible.

In the case of energy savings, it produces materials that work for you, increasing productivity and efficiency.

The product that is now available is a transparent paint that coats all manufacturing industries like textiles, plastics, oil and gas, commercial and residential homes and creates a saving of 10 to 30 per cent in energy costs alone.

Add to this, the efficiency savings that are created by fixing/replacing old rusted equipment, pipes, etc., and the entire concept of energy crisis disappears.

For example, any industry, such as textiles, requiring gas has to get fully efficient first in the shortest time. Funding of getting efficient can be paid from the monthly savings on energy.

The KESC has asked larger users of energy to install power factor savers to improve efficiency in a fixed timeframe. We all have to learn to live with less and stop the wastage.

Finally, a few things on how California does it after leading the country in comprehensive efficiency efforts that have kept per capita electricity demand flat for three decades.

Further, it believes that energy efficiency is the core climate solution as it is by far the biggest, cheapest, and fastest to deploy, and renewable energy potential never runs out.

Let us stop playing politics with this fire or it will burn us out.

Just like coal will, if we bring it out. Coal fires have been known to go on for 100 years. Coal damages the US economy more than the electricity it generates is worth.

VENU G. ADVANI Karachi