THE price of electricity is mainly determined by two things. The first is the cost of fuel because the country has to depend on furnace oil, diesel, coal or other imported fuel to generate electricity. The second is the fluctuation in the value of the dollar. The market determines the value of the dollar. The main reason for the increase in the current prices is the conditions set by the IMF during the previous regime of Imran Khan and the economic self-reliance of the State Bank of Pakistan. Now the value of the dollar is determined by the open market. Due to the actions of the Imran Khan government, the control of the government of Pakistan over the State Bank has been limited.
If the government artificially tries to control the value of the dollar, the burden on foreign exchange reserves increases which creates more financial problems for the country. The IMF has also imposed conditions that the government will not artificially control the value of the dollar and the value of the dollar will be determined by the open market. The two factors that determine the price of electricity, i.e. imported fuel and dollar value, are not under the control of the government.
In this situation, alternative sources of energy can play an important role in providing relief to the people, but the journey towards promoting the use of alternative sources of energy in Pakistan has just begun. In the coalition government of former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the plan to add 10,000 megawatts of additional solar power to the grid was started which is being implemented. It will take time to get results.
One such aspect is also the payments to private power generating plants. There is also a very important issue of fixed payments regardless of electricity production. These payments are in dollars. Another problem is in the form of electricity theft, which is hidden in an incomprehensible term of line losses, but in simple words, it is electricity theft. In other words, honest electricity consumers have to bear the burden for the dishonesty of the dishonest people.
The consumers who come under the definition of line losses are those who do not pay the electricity bills in full or pay the bills late or pay the bills in installments. This also includes those people who steal electricity from coils or other ways and the consequences have to be borne by the consumers who regularly and honestly pay the bills of electricity on a monthly basis. Due to these factors, the cost of generating electricity cannot be recovered in full.
Thus the deficit of the power sector increases which is now described by another term of circular debt. Another fact is that 75% of electricity is used by domestic consumers. Business activities are promoted by electricity used for industry and trade. If there is an increase in the use of this electricity, it will benefit the country’s economy. But the consumption of electricity by domestic consumers results in higher electricity bills and becomes a source of public anxiety.
Considering all this situation and factors, a good strategy can be that the domestic consumers adopt the habit of efficient use of electricity. Until a better situation is created in the current crisis of electricity in the country with alternative sources of energy, during this period we need to adopt the methods that are adopted in other developed countries. In the developed countries, people, institutions and businesses make maximum use of sunlight. Business is done in daylight and most of the activities of daily life are done in sunlight. In our country, there is an unfortunate trend of keeping shops open late at night and wasting daylight hours.
In view of the energy crisis, we also need to change our habits and lifestyle. The maximum use of electricity is from 6 pm to 11 pm. Domestic consumers should not use high-powered electrical appliances like AC, iron, motors etc. during these evening hours so that the electricity bill of domestic consumers does not increase and the consumption also decreases. However, pharmacies and bakeries may remain open by late hours. Also, a good suggestion would be to keep the bakeries and drug stores in the same area open on a weekly basis. That is, if there are ten shops in the same area, then one shop will remain open at night and the others will be closed. This process can be done in order of days so that people are not inconvenienced and electricity can be saved.
The policy of providing free electricity to WAPDA employees and other government officials should be seriously reviewed and terminated immediately so that the additional burden of those using this facility does not fall on the poor people. If this decision is taken immediately, the people will get adequate relief and they will also feel psychologically that they are not being discriminated against.
—The writer is editor, book ambassador, political analyst and author of several books based in Islamabad.
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