Immediate Power Generation but at what Cost

Due to power shortage in the whole country, Government is inviting and encouraging IPPs to invest and put more power plants in the country which will be mostly running on fossil fuel. Though there are limited number of permits given to companies who will be using renewable energy sources like Solar panels and Wind Turbines but their contribution is and with current scenario will be quite small making us mostly dependent on fossil fuel energy. This means a lot of increase in pollution which already is a threat in Pakistan making it more plausible as no Government policy against pollution is been devised. These toxic gases will be increasingly affecting our atmosphere, human health and crops but will also result in the climate shift which is already in a threatening situation.

Also if we consider economy then in Pakistan we don’t have enough reservoirs for petrol and even the present reservoirs for Gas are not sufficient enough for our needs. With future predictions in view if Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project will not be completed in near future we will be facing severe deficiency in Gas reservoirs. Now mostly Natural Gas, LPG, Furnace Oil and Diesel are used in such turbines to run them to produce electricity and we have to import all of these products to produce electricity. This means a lot of burden on our already depleting foreign reserves and more imports creating a lot of burden on the budget and will eventually increase the deficient. Also with fluctuating fossil fuel prices and fear of demands these prices might reach a point where they will be hurting the people much more. Government has already shown interest of increasing the price of electricity to might be Rs12/unit which is required by them as they are already providing subsidity on electricity but due to their commitment with IMF they have to do so to generate revenue. The increase in fossil fuel prices will directly increase the per unit price too and the prices which are already hurting might reach a point where it might be difficult for people to pay their dues.
Right now though for the short time planning one can say that these IPPs will be beneficial to at least minimize and then if able to remove completely the shortage of power in the country but long term planning is urgently required to adopt the sources of energy which will minimize the problems which we are facing. Renewable energy sources are the best solution for us as we don’t want to import constant fuel supply for that which is costing us a fortune and will be preventing our prices to fluctuate much with international prices. Dams are also a good solution but now in this new world dams are not that viable solution due to their own environmental impact, long duration of building and relative to building short duration of operation and after passing their lives they became a huge burden on the nations environment and economy. Though a limited number of dams to regulate the water supply and to produce cheap electricity (hydro power is the cheapest way of producing electricity) and to balance out the burden of energy cost produce by other sources but in near future we have to find ways to minimize our dependency on fossil fuel energy otherwise once the most fertile land of the world might not have a good future.