Pakistan’s problems are escalating with time and the country seems to breed serious problems with each passing moment. Political instability and security issues have always remained the biggest concerns for Pakistan but major internal issues such as lack of basic infrastructure and necessities to a major portion of the population have been kept on the back burner for far too long, as a result, these issues have now become severe and are adding to the internal security problems of the country.
Pakistan’s unique geo-political position ensures that it is always closely watched by its enemies who are always on the lookout to create new problems or intensify existing ones thereby ensuring the stagnation of the country’s progress. One serious problem faced by Pakistan is of energy crisis. Energy has a grave impact on Pakistan’s economy; it affects everything from the education sector to the health sector. The shortage of electricity gravely affects the manufacturing capacity of the country and it in turn stints the country’s exports.
The high energy costs coupled with energy shortage discourage investment as well. As a result, Pakistan’s financial woes worsen because the foreign exchange inflows are reducing exponentially while the expenses are increasing. A major chunk of Pakistan’s expenses is that of fuel and with decreasing revenue Pakistan remains reliant on external debt. Pakistan relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate electrical energy, and this not only burdens the economy by depleting the foreign reserves but the carbon emissions from these conventional fuel power plants have a serious impact on the climate.
This doesn’t work well for Pakistan as it is one of the worst affected countries due to climate change as evident from the recent catastrophic floods as a result of heavy monsoon rains third of Pakistan is beneath the water and almost 33 million people have been affected. According to the World Bank, the total economic damage exceeds 14.9 billion dollars followed by the need for at least 16.3 billion dollars for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Pakistan needs to take serious measures to address its energy crisis as this will address many of the country’s problems at once. Bearing in mind climate change, Pakistan needs to invest in clean energy sources. While the government is working on renewable energy projects but the energy produced from these projects is not enough to sustain the growing demands also their cost of production and maintenance is very high.
In such circumstances, nuclear energy serves as a viable alternative to conventional energy. The cost of setting up a nuclear power plant is high but it cost per unit is manageable and the energy produced is sufficient. The energy produced through nuclear power plants is clean which means that it caters to Pakistan’s climate change problem as well. Currently, Pakistan’s nuclear power plants are contributing 3650MW of energy to the national grid. According to the Nuclear Power Programme, 2050 Pakistan plans on constructing 32 nuclear power plants by 2050 and envisions 40,000 MW of nuclear power generation.
Further, Pakistan’s two nuclear power plants K2 and K3 are state of art equipped will all the required safety measures. These power plants are generating 2200 megawatts of energy. One more such power plant is under consideration in Chashma V with an electric generation capacity of 1100/1200 MW. There are further plans to construct two or more power plants in Karachi in near future. These are third-generation power plants and Pakistan Engineers and technicians have developed expertise in the maintenance and even manufacturing of small nuclear power plants. One more important feature is that its fuel is refilled after six months or more. So it gives an advantage of uninterrupted power Supply for such a long time.
Pakistan’s capabilities have been recognized by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and have been appreciated for several years for the safety and security of Nuclear Power plants. The Engineers and Scientists of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) have been awarded by IAEA. Pakistan is also a member of the Board of Governors of IAEA for two years.
Nuclear power plants are working globally in hundreds and providing relief globally. Pakistan’s Nuclear Power Plants are more sophisticated in design having all possible safety features. Pakistan has also a secure source of nuclear fuel as it develops itself and China which is the supplier of these nuclear power plants also has to supply for a particular period of time as per the agreement. Considering the nature of the challenges that Pakistan is faced with, it is the need of the hour to increase nuclear power production as it is the best and most affordable source of energy available to us.
Mirza Kashif Baig
Editor