CSS Current Affairs | Social Consequences of the Energy Crisis
The following question of CSS Current Affairs is solved by Khirman Batool 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-A bird’s eye view of the energy crisis and its causes
3-Social consequences of the energy crisis leading to public dissatisfaction and unrest
- ✓Increasing unemployment
- Case in point: About 28 million people associated with the textile sector are facing unemployment due to the power outrage
- ✓Causing inflation and poverty
- Case in point: The price cap on energy rose 54% to £1,971 per year, leading to a rise in prices of all other goods, increasing the poverty
- ✓Expensive Education
- Case in Point: The House of Commons Library, gas and electricity prices in schools and colleges saw a hike of 85%, with bills rising by over 500% as the cold weather takes hold
- ✓Causing social class division
- Case in point: Subsidies to specific people, including government officers, WAPDA employees, and tax for common people
- ✓Accelerating crime rate
- Case in point: Energy crisis causes an increase in 4-5% of crime rate
- ✓Leading electricity theft
- Case in point: According to the Power Division, the financial impact of electricity theft over the past 15 months was estimated at a staggering Rs500 billion
4-Suggestions to overcome the consequences of the energy crisis
- ✓Bringing cheap electricity
- ✓Reviving the forgotten projects
- ✓Up-gradation of distribution channels
5-Critical analysis
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The energy crisis, a pervasive and urgent issue, is a severe shortage of energy supply that disrupts the economy of a country. The current global cause of the crisis, such as sanctions on Russia, has significant impacts on society, including political, economic, and social consequences. Although all economies are affected, the crisis’s severe impacts are seen in developing countries like Pakistan. The social impacts of the crisis in Pakistan are an increase in poverty, inflation rate, generation of differences in different classes, and an increase in the country’s social crime rate. The crisis can be resolved by creating cheap electricity, reviving forgotten projects like TAPI and IP pipelines, and upgrading distribution channels.
A bird’s eye view of the energy crisis and its causes
The energy crisis is a shortage of electricity that hinders the industries of a country. The world witnessed it for the first time during the 1st Arab Israel War with an embargo on oil in 1973 by Arab countries as a strategy against Israel during their war. Later, the world witnessed it many times, including the 1949 oil crisis, the global energy crisis in 2008, and the global energy crisis in 2021. All have different trigger points. The most recent energy crisis is the Global Energy Crisis 2021, which the world came across during COVID-19 times, and sanctions on Russia due to the Russian war have fuelled it. And the world has witnessed its impact on their economies. Moreover, Pakistan’s major electricity is produced by Independent Power Producers (IPP), requiring imported oil to run their machines. However, its supply in the international market is hampered due to sanctions on Russia. This results in a decrease in the production of electricity by the IPP, which is 53% of the total electricity produced in Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan is facing severe political and socio-economic impacts.
Social consequences of energy crisis leading to public dissatisfaction and unrest
Following are some of the consequences of the energy crisis in Pakistan
- Increasing unemployment
The energy crisis has several impacts, including an increase in the unemployment rate all over the world. As the demand of oil by IPPs for energy production is lacking, so there is load-shedding of electricity 8-12 hours per day in major cities and industrial sectors of the county. About 28 million people associated with the textile sector are facing unemployment due to the power outrage. Moreover, the textile industry is unable to meet the export targets as the daily production is disrupted by long hours of electricity shortage. Therefore, the crisis resulted in an increase in the unemployment rate in Pakistan.
- Causing inflation and poverty
The crisis is not only causing unemployment but also creating inflation in the prices all over the country. As the price of oil increases, all prices of any good are increased. The landmark rise follows an increase in Ofgem’s energy price cap on 1 April 2022, attributed to the quadrupling of global gas wholesale prices. That increased the prices of goods as the cost of transportation increased, and also, tax on the goods increased. Moreover, the price cap on energy rose 54% to £1,971 per year, creating havoc in Pakistan by causing uncontrolled inflation over all items.
- Providing expensive education
The energy crisis has increased the expense of education. Pakistan’s major contribution to education is from the private sector. The shortage of electricity production and price hype would increase the expense of education. The House of Commons Library said that gas and electricity prices in schools and colleges have seen a hike of almost 85%. And during the winter, it’s expected that the education sector will see more increase in the price of electricity, with bills rising by over 500%. The winter has been unseasonably cold at times, and with snow across most of the country, the season does not give relaxation by giving low prices of energy.
- Causing social stratification
Moreover, the crisis has given rise to social stratification in Pakistan. The government gave subsidies to specific classes. The government has given relaxation to WAPDA and government employees, and common people submit hefty taxes on their bills, causing class division in society. Moreover, the cost of electricity has been collected by common people in the form of taxes, creating an unequal society full of distrust. This class difference further causes insecurities in society that result in social crimes.
- Accelerating crime rate
People facing poverty, inflation and social stratification are more prone to crimes. The crimes could be street crimes, like robbery, killing and others. A standard deviation increase in crime rate causes a 4–5% increase in the likelihood of being in energy poverty. This causes more dissatisfaction among people as they are doing wrong to fulfil their basic needs. The result of crimes and dissatisfied people is an unstable society full of havoc.
- Leading electricity theft
The crimes also include electricity theft, as dissatisfied people sometimes consider the government for their problems. To harm the government, they started stealing electricity through hooking. According to the Power Division, the financial impact of electricity theft over the past 15 months was estimated at a staggering Rs500 billion. This causes an increase in social dissatisfaction as people are burdened with more taxes on bills to overcome the cost of energy production. Also, the areas where some electricity thieves are present are facing more electricity shut down than other areas.
Suggestions to overcome the consequences of the energy crisis
- Bringing cheap electricity
To overcome the crisis and its social consequences, Pakistan should produce cheap electricity. Moreover, the electricity produced by fossil fuels causes environmental harm along with the costly electricity. So, Pakistan should focus on energy production means, like solar-based and wind-based, which the country can produce due to its geostrategic location. Pakistan is blessed with a variety of seasons where it can generate solar electricity in summers and wind electricity in winters, which would be cost-effective also.
- Reviving the forgotten projects
Pakistan could also construct its forgotten projects, like TAPI, CASA-1000, and IP pipelines. That would help it to survive the crisis. As they would generate not only electricity but also the need for industrial production in the case of fertilizers. All the positives compiled together would decrease inflation and increase the country’s industrial production and exports. As a result, the impacts of the crisis would be lessened in the long term.
- Up-gradation of distribution channels
The energy crisis can indirectly be overcome by decreasing line losses. So, upgrading the supply channels would decrease line losses and indirectly tax them as they are also included in the bills. A decrease in electricity bills would provide relaxation for common people, causing a decrease in social crimes and electricity theft.
Critical analysis
All in all, the global energy crisis has damaged Pakistan’s energy generation system, which is leading to an energy crisis in the country. Moreover, this has been causing severe social impacts, from the increase in unemployment, inflation and poverty to an increase in crime rates and social stratification among people. Nevertheless, the consequences can be corrected by producing cheap electricity and revising the forgotten energy projects.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the energy crisis in Pakistan is caused by a disturbance in the global oil demand and supply system. The crisis has social consequences, raising dissatisfaction among people due to unemployment, inflation, and poverty. Moreover, social division and social crime rates have also increased in society, all engraving their roots back in an energy crisis. However, the impacts can be reversed by supplying cheap electricity to the people and upgrading the country’s supply system to decrease the cost of electricity for people.
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