CSS Current Affairs | International Prospects for Pakistan to Address Energy Crisis
The following question of CSS Current Affairs is solved by Zarmin Kausar under the supervision of Howfiv’s Pakistan Affairs and Current Affairs Coaches. She learnt how to attempt 20 marks question and essay writing from Sir Syed Kazim Ali, Pakistan’s best CSS and PMS English essay and precis teacher with the highest success rate of his students. This solved past paper question is attempted on the pattern taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years, and uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-International partnerships of Pakistan
- ✓Central Asia South Asia power project
- ✓Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline
- ✓Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline
3-How international partnerships will benefit Pakistan in addressing energy crisis
- ✓Reduce dependency on IPPS
- ✓Bridge demand and supply gap
- ✓Decrease circular debt of the country
- ✓Less dependency on the imported energy mix
- ✓Open the doors to more energy projects
4-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Efficient energy serves as the backbone of a country upon which the country’s stability on socio-political and economic grounds standstill. However, the energy crisis is a bottleneck, halting the country’s machinery to function correctly. Unfortunately, Pakistan stands among those countries facing economic crisis for decades. In order to tackle the energy crisis, Pakistan has started multiple international partnerships for efficient energy sources to compensate for the dearth of energy. Eventually, these projects can be a roadmap towards finally tackling the country’s energy crisis through energy productivity.
International partnerships of Pakistan
- Central Asia South Asia power project
CASA is a multilateral power project initiated by Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to meet the power needs of all the countries. As per this project, Pakistan and Afghanistan will supply electricity in peak winters and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will provide electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan in peak summers. Following this, the supply capacity of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistanwould be 1300 MW, out of which 1000 MW would be for Pakistan and 300 MW for Afghanistan. Thus, Pakistan will get 1000 MW of electricity for this project.
- Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline
The Iran-Pakistan pipeline project came under discussion in 1996. In 1998, India also became a part of this project, but it withdrew in 2009. Both countries signed a final agreement in Ankara on 16 March 2010. Under this project, 750 million cubic feet of natural gas would be imported to Pakistan. Later, it will be increased to one billion mcf. Thus, this project will allow Pakistan to import massive amounts of gas.
- Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline
Another international project to import Natural gas in the country is TAPI, which holds a Maximum gas discharge capacity of 38 billion cubic feet per annum. Out of this, 42% will be imported into Pakistan. In this way, Pakistan will hold the share of 15.96 billion cubic feet per annum of gas import.
How international partnerships will benefit Pakistan to address energy crisis
- Reduce dependency on IPPS
Pakistan relies on independent power producers for half of its total installed power generation capacity. Most importantly, around 42 IPPs contribute to power production in the country, as the 2022 report clearly shows that IPPs produce 20,000 Mw of power. Add fuel to the fire. Through subsidies, Pakistan imports an expensive energy mix and provides these imported raw materials to the IPPs. In this way, Pakistan suffers losses. Eventually, the CASA project is a ray of hope for Pakistan to achieve a milestone of sufficient energy generation.
- Bridging demand and supply gap
Due to mismanagement of energy resources and population explosion, a considerable gap exists in the country’s energy supply and demand. Demand is increasing, and production is not sufficient. The above-mentioned international projects could help the country bridge the gap between demand and supply.
- Decreasing circular debt of the country
Pakistan has been trapped in circular debt for power generation and natural gas because of line losses, electricity theft, and meter manipulation. As the Ministry of Defense report adds fuel to the fire, Pakistan’s circular debt in the gas sector and electricity sector is 2.1 trillion and 2.63 trillion, respectively. Owing to international projects, the network of new transmission lines would provide an opportunity to tackle the country’s circular debt.
- Less dependency on the imported energy mix
Pakistan’s maximum power production depends upon imported LNG, coal, and oil. When the prices of these energy mixes rise in the international market, it disturbs the balance of payment and leads the country towards a budget deficit. So, all the above-mentioned projects could be profitable in preventing the reliance on imported energy mixes.
- Open the doors to more energy projects.
If these projects operate smoothly, they could foster regional connectivity. Following this, other countries’ trust will be built, which could be a step towards more bilateral energy projects. Eventually, it can open the door to more energy projects that can take the country not only to meet its energy requirements but also to development.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, efficient energy is the heart and soul of the country’s stability on all grounds. However, Pakistan has been facing an energy crisis for a long due to several issues. In this present age, globalization has increased inter-connectedness among countries, and no country can tackle its domestic matters by relying only on its resources. As far as Pakistan is concerned with combating the energy crisis, it is inclined towards an international partnership that will surely get the country from the quagmire of the energy crisis by reducing dependency on IPPs and imported mix, bridging the supply and demand gap, and decreasing circular debt of the country. Thus, the conclusion is that, in one sentence, international partnership is the way to take the country from a bumpy road to a paved road towards energy stability.
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