STAFF REPORT ISLAMABAD: The gas and power shortages in Pakistan are going from bad to worst and the situation would go out of control in the next two decades if it did not manage any alternative sources on sustained basis. It appears that the country is now seeing the beginning of the crisis.
Hagler Bailly, a global management consulting firm, had warned in a 2006 study that Pakistan is going to witness gas shortage starting in 2007, and the imbalance will grow every year to cripple the economy by 2025, when shortage will be 11,092 MMCFD (Million standard cubic feet per day) against total 13,259 MMCFD production.
Demand for natural gas in Pakistan increased by almost 10 percent annually from 2000-01 to 2008, reaching around 3,200m cubic feet per day (MMCFD) in 2010 against the total production of 3,774 MMCFD. But during 2008-2009, this demand exceeded the available supply indicating a shortfall of 203 MMCFD.
The potentially devastating effect of the gas shortage on the nation can be gauged by the fact that Pakistanis heavily depend on gas for their energy needs. With a gas pipeline network stretching around 56,400 km, pipeline density of 1044 km/mmscmd (million metric standard cubic meter per day) and a 31,000 km distribution network to serve its domestic and commercial consumers and nearly 3000 CNG stations, the gas consumption in Pakistan is much higher than its bigger South Asian neighbour, India, which relies more heavily on its vast coal reserves for energy.
Per capita energy consumption in Pakistan is estimated at 14.2 million BTU, which is much higher than Bangladesh's 5 million BTUs per capita but slightly less than India's 15.9 million BTU per capita energy consumption.
Pakistan and Germany have initiated serious discussions of German funding of eight ongoing and new hydropower projects worth billions of dollars. In addition to mega projects such as 1000 MW Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project, a number of community-based micro hydro projects are being executed Northern Areas and Khuyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to experts, Pakistan has vast reserves of coal, but there is very little energy produced by burning coal. China has now agreed to invest about $600 million for setting up an integrated coal mining-cum-power project in Sindh. The project will produce 180 million tons of coal per year, which is sufficient to fuel the proposed 405 MW power plant.
Pakistan is currently world's seventh largest coal-producing country, with coal reserves of more than 185 billion tons, ranking as the fourth of fifth largest coal reserves in the world.
Currently, Pakistan is facing a deficit of 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts, resulting in extensive load-shedding of several hours a day for the last over three years.
China has already installed a 325-megawatt nuclear power plant (C1) at Chashma and is currently working on another (C2) of the same capacity that is expected to be online by 2010.
The experts link the current energy crisis to the failures of successive governments in tackling the growing energy crisis. Inaction at this point would be criminal. They say that the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project has to be accelerated to avoid significant further harm to the country.http://www.technologytimes.pk/mag/2011/march11/issue01/persitent_pak_energy_crisis_needs.php
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