Sawera Nadeem

In recent years, Pakistan has been wrestling with severe energy challenges, but the province of Sindh now faces an even more pressing issue — a complete halt on new gas meter installations. The decision, primarily executed by Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), has triggered widespread inconvenience, public outrage, and uncertainty among citizens and businesses alike. From families building new homes to students in hostels, small businesses, and real estate developers — the ban is biting hard. While the government defends its move as a necessity driven by dwindling resources, the people of Sindh are left navigating daily life without one of the most basic utilities.

Why Was the Ban Imposed?

The gas meter ban emerged as part of a broader conservation policy introduced in 2023. According to officials, Pakistan’s natural gas reserves are rapidly depleting, and the infrastructure cannot support further expansion in domestic connections. The energy ministry claims that gas demand has far exceeded supply, particularly during the winter months when residential usage spikes. To preserve pressure in existing pipelines and prioritize current consumers, new connections were halted indefinitely.

The Role of SSGC and the Petroleum Division

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), responsible for gas distribution in Sindh and Balochistan, has been at the forefront of implementing this policy. Backed by directives from the Petroleum Division, SSGC froze all new meter applications, even for families who had completed all formalities. While the company cites technical and supply constraints, the lack of a clear timeline or alternative strategy has exacerbated public dissatisfaction.

Who Is Affected and How? Impact on New Homeowners

Families moving into new houses are among the worst affected. Many spent their life savings constructing homes, only to realize that gas connections would not be available. In areas like Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Scheme 33, and Malir in Karachi, several newly built homes remain unoccupied due to the absence of legal gas access. Homeowners are forced to rely on costly and potentially dangerous alternatives like LPG cylinders or electric cookers.

Struggles of Tenants and Students

Renters and students face unique struggles. Hostels and shared apartments often depend on individual meters to function efficiently. Without gas, tenants must cook with low-powered electric stoves, endure cold showers in winter, or buy meals daily — a significant financial burden on students and low-income individuals. In hostels near the University of Karachi, residents complain of frequent power cuts that compound the issue.

Voices from entire Sindh

In cities like Sukkur, Khairpur, and Nawabshah, the situation is even graver. Residents of newly developed housing schemes in these areas say they were promised gas connections, which are now indefinitely suspended. With little access to reliable alternatives, people are resorting to firewood or charcoal, reversing years of progress in energy access and increasing health risks due to indoor air pollution.

Case Studies

Karachi Family’s Fight for Basic Utilities

Rashid Ahmed, a middle-class resident of Karachi, recently completed construction on a modest 3-bedroom home in North Karachi. However, after months of waiting, he was told his application for a gas meter would not be processed due to the ban.

“We’re spending almost Rs.8000 every month on LPG cylinders. That’s more than what we expected for all utilities combined,” Rashid says. “Our kitchen is small, and storing cylinders is unsafe. But we have no choice.”

Builders Left in the Lurch

Builders and real estate developers have also sounded the alarm. Imran Siddiqui, a developer in Hyderabad, claims that three of his apartment projects have been delayed due to buyer hesitation.

“Clients don’t want to move into flats without a basic gas connection. Sales have dropped drastically. We’ve already paid advance fees to SSGC for some connections — that money is now frozen,” he said.

Hostels Running Without Gas

A girls’ hostel in Gulistan-e-Johar houses nearly 50 students from interior Sindh. Hostel warden Samina Baloch shared that without gas, even heating water becomes a luxury.

“Some of our girls get late for university because they have to wait their turn to use one small electric kettle for showers,” she says. “We weren’t prepared for this. Our backup system can’t handle full capacity.”

Domestic Workers and Home-Based Businesses Hit Hard

For Saima Bibi, a domestic worker and home cook, the ban has cost her more than comfort — it’s affected her income.

“I used to cook meals for two families daily. Now I can’t manage cooking multiple dishes using just one electric stove. I’ve lost one client already,” she explains. Women running home-based catering businesses are seeing reduced orders and increased operational costs.

Economic Consequences

Real Estate Slowdown

The real estate sector in Sindh has experienced a noticeable slowdown. New projects are facing reduced buyer interest due to uncertainty around utilities. Builders fear that the freeze on gas connections may extend further, discouraging investment in housing.

Small Businesses and Eateries at Risk

Small-scale eateries, chai dhabas, and tandoors depend heavily on gas. In areas like Saddar, Korangi, and Hyderabad’s Auto Bhan Road, dozens of businesses have switched to LPG, but at a high cost. Their margins have shrunk, and many fear closure if the situation continues.

Rise in Unofficial Connections and Safety Hazards

The ban has inadvertently created a black market for gas. In some neighborhoods, illegal connections are being offered for as much as Rs. 70,000. These connections are often unsafe, lack regulation, and pose a fire hazard. SSGC has issued warnings but lacks the manpower to inspect every area.

Public Reaction and Civil Society Response

Protests and Legal Appeals

Several neighborhood associations in Karachi and Hyderabad have staged protests outside SSGC offices, demanding a timeline for gas restoration. Legal notices have also been sent by some real estate developers and homeowner groups. Despite growing pressure, there’s been little movement from the authorities.

NGOs and Activist Voices

Civil society organizations like the Urban Resource Centre (URC) and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) have raised their voices, calling the ban “discriminatory” against the urban poor. They argue that the state has a duty to provide essential services, and denying access violates basic rights.

Government’s Justification

Gas Shortages and Infrastructure Issues

Officials maintain that gas reserves in Sindh and Balochistan are running out and that pipeline infrastructure cannot handle more connections without risking pressure loss. The emphasis, they argue, should be on optimizing current usage and preventing leaks.

Future Energy Vision vs. Present Reality

The Petroleum Division insists that the long-term plan involves shifting to electric or renewable energy-based appliances, such as electric stoves, water heaters, and solar panels. However, without state subsidies or a gradual transition plan, this vision seems disconnected from the harsh realities people face today.

Expert Insights

Is the Ban Sustainable?

Energy analysts like Dr. Kamran Rehman of NED University believe the ban is a “band-aid solution” that does not address the root problem.

“Yes, we have a supply issue, but bans don’t solve it. We need better planning, alternative sources, and fairer distribution,” he says.

What Energy Experts Recommend

Experts suggest a phased, needs-based reconnection policy. Prioritizing connections for families with elderly members, young children, or medical needs could prevent undue hardship. They also advocate for heavy investment in LNG terminals, domestic exploration, and infrastructure upgrades.

Alternatives and Possible Solutions

Need-Based Connections

Instead of a blanket ban, authorities could issue connections based on urgent necessity. Special quotas could be allocated for low-income families, students, and small businesses.

LPG Subsidy Programs

If gas cannot be provided immediately, the government should offer subsidies on LPG cylinders or provide safe electric stoves to affected households. Currently, families are spending up to Rs. 10,000 monthly — an unsustainable figure for many.

Shift to Renewable Energy

Long-term solutions should include investment in solar cooking systems, hybrid water heaters, and energy-efficient appliances. Public-private partnerships could fast-track these innovations while reducing pressure on existing gas systems.

Conclusion

Finding a Balanced Path Forward

The gas meter ban in Sindh reflects a deeper crisis in Pakistan’s energy management. While the intentions behind the move may have stemmed from real constraints, the policy’s execution has created more chaos than control. People are being pushed into unsafe, expensive, and illegal alternatives. Without timely intervention, the issue may spiral into a full-blown humanitarian and economic crisis.

The government must act swiftly — not only to restore faith but to fulfill its duty of providing equitable access to basic utilities. A policy rooted in empathy, long-term planning, and citizen engagement is the need of the hour. Only then can Sindh move toward energy resilience without leaving its people in the dark — or the cold.

Read: Ban on gas meters to continue, NA panel told

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Sawera Nadeem, based in Karachi, is a Mass Communication student with a passion for research-based writing.  She focuses on topics that highlight public interest and social impact.

Read: Gas load-shedding in Pakistan makes people’s life hell

The post Gas Meter Ban in Sindh: A New Energy Crisis first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Monitoring Desk

Europe is beset by a severe energy crisis. Household energy bills are through the roof. Inflation remains stubbornly high, and the cost-of-living is soaring. Angry people took to the streets. Worse still, the cold weather is on the way and a tough winter is ahead.

The list of problems goes on, yet the real risk the continent faces, experts believe, is loss of competitive edge due to rising energy costs, as manufacturers are shifting their production to the United States where energy is cheaper and incentives were unveiled.

As the European Union (EU) countries are struggling to find a solution to its energy crisis, the United States has become a hot destination for the relocation of their industries, and emerges as the biggest winner.

SOARING ENERGY PRICES

The European countries have been suffering under painfully high energy prices as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and the spillover of the United States’ aggressive interest rate hikes.

Europe’s energy supply from Russia has been seriously reduced as the Ukraine crisis continues. Last year, up to 40 percent of the natural gas used in the EU to heat homes and power businesses came from Russia. Today, this figure has fallen to around 9 percent.

With access to Russian gas becoming increasingly difficult, European countries had to switch to much expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG). The quantity of LNG purchased by Europe from the United States has exceeded piped gas from Russia for the first time in June, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which means the United States is replacing Russia to possibly become Europe’s largest energy supplier.

However, the United States sells its LNG to Europe at “four times” the price at which it sells to American suppliers, said French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who feared that the United States could benefit from the situation to the detriment of European interests.

“We are going to say with great friendship towards our American friends, our Norwegian friends, that ‘you are great, you provide us with gas.’ But there is one thing that can’t work for a very long time, that is we can’t pay for gas that is four times more expensive,” French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his dissatisfaction recently.

“We can see that the U.S. is the biggest beneficiary of this energy crisis. Huge profits flow into the pockets of U.S. natural gas suppliers,” Cui Hongjian, director of the department for European studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said, adding that with the U.S. has succeeded in making Europe not only more dependent on it for energy in the future.

RISING PRODUCTION COSTS

Energy has been regarded as the bedrock of sound economic development. Though accounting for a small fraction of GDP for most developed countries, the energy sector has an out-sized impact on inflation and input costs for all sectors due to its ubiquity in consumption.

Europe’s energy costs approximately 2 percent of GDP in normal times, but it has soared to an estimated 12 percent on the back of surging prices, a recent article of Foreign Policy said, adding that high costs of this magnitude mean that many industries across Europe are scaling back operations or shutting down completely.

The analysis has been echoed by industry observers, who said that soaring energy prices in Europe are forcing a large number of European energy-intensive plants to curtail or even terminate production, which is a sign of expanding deindustrialization in Europe. If the trend continues, the industrial structure of Europe may be eroded for good, they warned.

As an instance of the toll Europe has taken for high energy prices, the Dutch aluminum maker Aldel has announced that it is halting the production of primary aluminum because electricity prices are too high.

Yara, one of the world’s leading crop nutrition companies, has shut its fertilizer plant in Sluiskil of the Netherlands.

Nicolas de Warren, the president of Uniden, the Federation of energy-intensive industries in France, has said that the industries have reached a limit as the sector’s competitiveness is overshadowed by price spikes of energy.

Some industries may survive the energy crunch in Europe by importing elementary products from the United States at lower costs. However, the metal, chemical, glass, ceramic and paper industries in Europe will be eroded, de Warren warned.

According to Eurometaux, the European non-ferrous metals association, the power crisis has knocked 50 percent of the EU’s aluminum and zinc capacity offline, and the impact also include significant curtailments in silicon and ferroalloys production, as well as on copper and nickel sectors.

BIG WINNER

While European manufacturers are shrinking production, with some even struggling for survival due to the high energy costs, things are quite different on the other side of the Atlantic.

German media reports showed that German flag carrier Lufthansa, multinational conglomerate corporation Siemens, supermarket brand Aldi and health care company Fresenius, four out of the more than 60 German companies in Oklahoma, have jointly added 300 million U.S. dollars of investment in the U.S. state.

The expansion of investment by German auto industry in the United States is also in full swing. The largest German car maker Volkswagen laid foundation for a new battery laboratory in State of Tennessee in June, and it has committed US$7.1 billion in supplier partnerships in North America through 2027.

In March, Mercedes-Benz opened a new battery assembly plant in Bibb County, Alabama. BMW has also announced a plan to increase its investment on Electric Vehicles in State of South Carolina.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict drives up Europe’s energy costs, a number of European manufacturers are being lured to the relative stability of the United States, a Wall Street Journal article recently reported. “A big winner is emerging from Europe’s energy crisis, and it’s the U.S. economy.”

Several factors contribute to the economic relocation. On one hand, the relatively low energy prices in the United States translate into lower production cost for European manufacturers, which is leading them to move some of their production from Europe to the United States.

On the other, U.S. Congress passed a landmark 430-billion dollar climate, tax and healthcare bill named Inflation Reduction Act in August. According to the Act, most of the funds will be earmarked as subsidies for energy and climate programs, which fueled a green energy investment rush by European companies in the United States.

The Washington’s incentives have upset the Europeans, who fear the Inflation Reduction Act could upend the “level playing field” on trade between the EU and the United States.

“We need to work on adequate European responses to this American Inflation Reduction Act, which might jeopardize the developing field between our two continents,” Le Maire said recently.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck also noted that companies and firms are drawn away from Europe to the United States “because of the strong subsidies paid there.”

Europe has crippled its energy system, its energy markets, mix of fuel types and sources, energy infrastructure, long term contracts and geopolitical relationships needed to assure energy stability and security, said John Pang, a senior fellow at New York-based Bard College.

“In the short term there will be shortages, supply uncertainty, financial turmoil and political upheaval. In the long term, Europe will complete its deindustrialization. More major companies will certainly move to the U.S.,” Pang said.

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Courtesy: TeleSur (Published on Oct 27, 2022)  

The post Europeans Fear Losing Competitiveness Due to Energy Crisis first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Tom Arms

Enjoy the summer sun while you can. It is going to be a c-c-cold winter—literally and metaphorically.

Just about every corner of the globe will be affected. The US perhaps less than many. Europe more than most. But Inflation fuelled by energy shortages will affect almost every one. The rare exceptions will be those living in mud huts heated by gathered wood and financed by a barter economy.

The major cause is the Ukraine war, European reliance on Russian energy and Vladimir Putin’s willingness to use it as a weapon. But there are other factors: Grain and general food shortages caused by the war, slow recovery from a lingering pandemic, supply chain bottlenecks, inflation and rising interest rates to control it and political instability which is both the cause and effect of the above.

On 26 July the EU will hold a European energy summit to thrash out a coordinated response to the crisis. Failure to do so will damage the unity of the world’s biggest trading bloc with knock-on effects everywhere else.

On the agenda are increased development of green energy and boosted production of European oil and dirty coal to fill the gap. Also to be discussed will be coordinated purchases of Liquefied Natural Gas and the building of more gas storage facilities, the strength of the Euro, more help for Ukraine, holding the line against Russia, food inflation and, dare I say it, rationing. All of the above are inextricably linked.

The threat of a Russian gas blackmail has been hanging over Europe since before Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine on 24 February. The Reagan Administration issued warnings about it 40 years ago. Moscow supplies 25 percent of Europe’s gas. This week the main supplier—Gazprom—shut down Nordstream 1, the main gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. They claimed that the halt was for “maintenance purposes” but everyone knows that the shutdown is a thinly veiled threat.

Europeans have been actively hoarding gas supplies in storage facilities in preparation for the winter to come. German economists reckon that if they increase stocks to 80 percent of capacity by November then there will be enough for winter. Before the heatwave struck supplies were at 60 percent capacity. Now they are dropping as sweltering consumers switch on their air conditioning.

Germany has other energy problems. Consumer gas prices have been subsidized for years with an unrealistic price cap that at the moment reduces the household price by more than a third of the market price. This is unsustainable but politically difficult to change so the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is tiptoeing around the subject of gas rationing.

Italy is as—if not more—dependent on Russian energy than Germany. It is in the middle of a political crisis as the government of Mario Draghi this week handed in his resignation over its failure to push a financial package through the Italian parliament. The Italian political crisis occurs at the same time as a Roman financial crisis which threatens the unity of the Euro which this week dropped below parity with the dollar.

Facing even bleaker prospects are the East Europeans who are even more dependent on Russian energy and do not have the gas and oil storage facilities of Western Europe. With the exception of Hungary, most of the Eastern half of the EU has held a firm line against Russian aggression and its energy blackmail. But as companies fail and consumers shiver, it will become increasingly difficult to maintain unity.

High energy prices and the inflation it causes is not confined to Europe. Energy prices are set at a global level. If Russia reduces the flow to Europe it pushes up the price in Pakistan as well as in Berlin.

Global consumers should perhaps take inspiration from Ukraine which will be the hardest hit of all this winter. Ironically, Russian gas is still flowing into the country, but Russian artillery have been heavily focused on destroying the country’s power grid—generating plants, electricity substations and internal gas pipelines and pumping stations. Any discomfort that many will suffer this winter will be magnified a thousand-fold in Ukraine.

World Review

• A diplomatic truism is that some conflicts are insoluble. They are, however, manageable. Although the consequences of doing nothing or mismanagement can spell disaster. The Arab-Israeli conflict falls neatly into the above category. President Joe Biden obviously came to this conclusion before stepping on the plane for his tour of the Middle East this week. A succession of American administrations—except Trump’s—has paid homage to the two-state solution. Biden reiterated the pre-Trump position, but not as forcefully as his predecessors. Part of the reason is that there was little point as his Israeli counterpart, Yasir Lapid, is merely a caretaker prime minister while the Jewish state struggles through another political crisis. As for the Palestinians, they are hopelessly divided between Hamas in Gaza who are a designated terrorist organization and the PLO’s Mahmoud Abbas who, at 86, makes Biden look like the proverbial spring chicken. The result is that the two-state solution has been moved from the backburner to refrigerator. Instead the US administration is focusing on maintaining relations with Israel and trying to draw other allies—mainly Saudi Arabia but also the United Arab Emirates and Qatar—into closer relations with Israel. To help with the first point, Biden has toughened his stand on Iran and the threat of nuclear weapons. One thing that all Israeli parties agree on is that Iran represents an existential threat. Biden has agreed that he will do whatever is necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The second issue is more, problematic, especially as regards Saudi Arabia. There is no love lost between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Biden and the wider Democratic Party. Clearly a problem that needs managing.
• Ukrainian military commanders are cock-a-hoop. The military equipment and training provided by the West are starting to work, especially the shoot and scoot American High Mobility Rocket Systems (HIMARS). The GPS-guided precision artillery have to date knocked out 19 forward-based Russian ammunition dumps. The Ukrainians are now talking about a major counter-offensive involving hundreds of thousands of ground troops to retake territories lost in the Donbas Region. There are, however, problems. HIMARS rockets are accurate and effective, but they are also expensive and have to be used sparingly. So far the US has supplied eight launchers. Another four are on the way. The other problem is that their range is limited to 50 miles. As the Ukrainians advance, the Russians could simply stage a tactical retreat and still control a significant slice of Eastern Ukraine. Washington could supply Ukraine with precision weaponry with a range of 500 miles. These would be a war-winner but would mean that Ukraine could strike targets inside Russia which means escalation with disastrous consequences.
• Meanwhile there appears to be the possibility of some movement on the movement of grain out of Ukraine. Between them, Russia and Ukraine account for 21-28 percent of the world’s grain supplies and 40 percent of this vital food for the inherently unstable North Africa and Middle East. A big chunk of that grain is – more than 20 million tons—trapped in Ukrainian siloes, unable to reach hungry world markets because of a Russian naval blockade. This week saw talks in Istanbul involving Ukrainian, UN, Russian and Turkish negotiators. They ended with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar promising a signed deal next week. Moscow and Kyiv have said nothing. There are several sticking points. For a start the Ukrainians have mined the approaches to their ports to        prevent a Russian amphibious landing and the Russians have imposed a naval blockade to stop the import of weapons. Going into this week’s talks Moscow demanded the right to inspect incoming ships for weapons. The Ukrainians said no. The Ukrainians, for their part insisted on grain carriers being escorted by convoys of friendly ships. That is a possibility and Turkey may play a role here. A further complication, however, is that the exports would include Russian grain which Ukrainians assert has been stolen from land occupied by the Russians since their 24 February invasion.  Not surprisingly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said: “There is still a way to go.”

• The current UK leadership elections exposes some of the many failings of democracy—short termism and an unrepresentative voting system. The two are linked. The candidates for head of the Conservative Party (and thus prime minister) are campaigning on a platform which benefits the national interest but on one which also panders first to 359 Conservative Party members of parliament and then an estimated 160,000 card-carrying Tories (average age 57). That is out of a voting population of 46,560,452. The person who is elected is likely to reside in Downing Street for the next roughly three years, two at the least. Britain faces massive structural and social problems. It has to deal with massive debts inherited from Boris Johnson, the pandemic and Brexit. Then then there is the cost of living crisis, impending trade union disputes, the Northern Ireland Protocol, social divisions, food banks, Ukraine, rising energy costs, trade with the EU and US, future food shortages…. Virtually all of the fore mentioned are being ignored. Instead the candidates are ranting about wokeism, the perfidy of Brussels and pushing tax cuts—the most popular of all policies with Tory voters, who, after all, are the only ones allowed to vote in this election. I am not proposing ditching democracy. It is, as is attributed to Winston Churchill, “the worst form of government except for all the rest.” But that does not mean that any democracy cannot be improved, especially to accommodate changing social conditions. In fact, the ability to amend and reform should be one of the hallmarks of a democratic system.

• It works like this: You need to borrow money. So you go to the bank and they ask for collateral and the best collateral is property. You tell them that your Manhattan tower block is worth $200 million and so they loan you $100 million in return for the deeds until the loan is repaid. Pretty normal, legal run-of-the-mill business practice—unless you are not telling the truth about the value of your Manhattan tower block. If you lied then it is criminal fraud. Manhattan’s District Attorney claims Donald Trump and his children lied. The result, they are now facing sworn depositions. So what will eventually topple the ex-president? Will it be his business practises, his political chicanery or his sex antics?
• An amusing an interesting consequence of the overturning of Roe v Wade has emerged in Texas—that most hardline of anti-abortion states. In common with many other parts of America, Texas has high occupancy traffic lanes to help cope with rush hour traffic. To use the lane there has to be at least two people in the car. Brandy Bottone, 32, was stopped and fined $275, for being alone in her car. Not so, she told the traffic policeman, as the 34-week pregnant mother-to-be pointed to her stomach. “My baby is right here. She is a person.” It will be interesting to see what the Supreme Court says.

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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democratic Voice and the author of the recently-published “America Made in Britain”. He is currently working on a rewrite of his “Encyclopedia of the Cold War.”

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Cadet Irfan Luhur

Load shedding of electricity is a major issue experienced by the general population of Pakistan. The extreme load shedding is turning into a distress and annoyance for the citizens. It causes interruption in all circles of life. It hinders the development and improvement of the nation, and exists as an issue which has not been controlled by any of the successive civil and military rulers. We see the government officials making false statements about this issue. They always promise to people that the issue of load shedding will soon be resolved however, no changes have been witnessed in past few decades by the people. The issue is deteriorating with each passing day and the reasons behind it could be inefficiency, and the corruption that prevails at every level.

Students are one of those sections of society who are badly affected by power shortage issue. Due to excessive hours of power shortage, their study routine gets disturbed much of their time is wasted. The issue turns more terrible amid the long stretches of summers. Usually summer is the time when students show up for their final exams so they get distracted and fail to focus due to extreme warmth. This issue occurs at home and in school hours.

Due to prolonged load shedding the industrial sector of Pakistan has also endured a great loss. Their productivity failed due to excessive hours of power shortage. As all large industries depend on heavy machineries run by electricity, so due to power outage, production is reduced. As machinery gets stopped, workers sit free for long hours. To cope with this problem companies usually use generators to run machinery. However, introducing generators inflate the total cost of production.

According to a study, carried out by Research and Advocacy for the Advancement of Allied Reforms (RAFTAAR), about 25% of the energy is consumed by family unit machines. The consumption of the energy mainly depends upon the product quality or the way appliance is being used. The research results state that about 17% of the energy can be saved by proficiency measures, and the ratio of energy consumption can be minimized.

Another study by Asian Development Bank also states that about one fourth of the energy being utilized by home appliances get wasted. The reason behind this wastage of energy is the use of old appliances, because old appliances require more energy to work properly.

To overcome power shortage issue people have installed UPS in their houses. According to RAFTAAR the estimated ratio of UPS in use in the country, is equal to the total number of people living in Balochistan.

In commercial zone, organizations introduce generators to cope with load shedding. The consolidated limit of the generators introduced in the country is more than the national power supply, which is 17,000 Megawatts.

However the issue with the expanding number of generators and UPS being installed in organizations and at homes respectively, is that the power supplied by these machines is inefficient as compared to that, provided through the national grid.

The effective solution to overcome power shortage is to produce electricity through renewable energy products. As per studies the country has great potential to produce solar and wind energy.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) venture displays an extraordinary chance to team up with the Chinese sustainable power source items. As China drives the world with regards to sustainable power sources with the creation of around 140 Gigawatts of energy through sun based and wind energy, so it’s a better opportunity for Pakistan to work for this and overcome the electricity issue.

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Cadet Irfan Luhur is based in Karachi Sindh

The post Load shedding in Pakistan: Reasons, Effects and Solutions first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Tom Arms

Worried about energy prices? Well, you should start worrying more about the empty bread bin.

Twenty-nine percent of the world’s grain comes from Ukraine and Russia.

Russia, Belarus and Ukraine have banned the export of all grains as a direct consequence of Putin’s War. And, because of our interconnected world, when there is a shortage of one type of grain it has a ripple effect on every other.

Commodity brokers are now predicting shortages and high prices not just for wheat but also for rice, millet, rye, maize, barley, oats and sorghum. This is on top of a 50 percent increase in prices in just six months caused by a 20 percent lower than usual harvest because of climate change issues.

Then there is the impact that less grain will have on livestock production as just about every farm animal needs commercially produced grain. Everything from chicken nuggets to filet steak is going up.

Vegans and vegetarians will be no better off. Add to the above scenario that all grain and vegetable crops are likely to be hit by a lack of fertilizer as 18 percent of the world’s potash comes from Belarus. That means lower yields and higher prices for everything that grows in the ground.

Then finally, there is sunflower oil. Eighty percent of the world’s sunflower oil comes from Ukraine and is widely used in a number of processed foods.

In short, the war in Ukraine is bad news for food prices and the cost of living crisis. The only ones who will see a silver lining might be palm and olive oil growers and a few farmers, but they face higher energy prices for producing and transporting their produce.

People in the developed world will be hit. They will be made uncomfortable. Difficult and painful household decisions are required. But their discomfort is nothing compared to the impact of Putin’s War on the roughly 6.8 billion people who live in the developing world.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) 24 low and middle income countries imported more than 50 kilograms of wheat per person and this wheat provides their populations with an average of 500 calories a day for each individual. The households in these same countries spent 45 percent of their income on food last year.

Ukraine and Russia is almost the sole source of wheat for Turkey, North Africa and the Middle East. In Egypt the government has responded to the crisis by imposing a cap on wheat prices. It is a short-term unsustainable measure. In virtually bankrupt Lebanon they are simply going without and the same is the case in most North African countries.

Empty bellies create discontent which in turn leads to political instability, riots and war. This in turn leads to more refugees and economic migrants which puts pressure on political institutions in developed countries. The last time there was a major worldwide spike in grain prices was in 2007-2008. The result was food riots in 40 countries.

The developed world can help to ease the problems of 85 percent of the rest of the global population. Developed world governments will face pressure to hoard food supplies. Hungary and Moldova have already banned the export of wheat and corn. Bulgaria is said to be considering doing the same. Hungary’s Viktor Orban—who is in the middle of an election campaign—said: “We must think of our own first.”

The EU has a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which takes up a big slice of its budget and is designed to support farmers. It has been gradually reforming itself. In 1980, for instance the CAP was 65 percent of the EU budget. In 2021 it was 35 percent. But the amount spent on agricultural support in 2021 ($185 billion) was still more than the EU’s aid budget ($161 billion). The EU is the world’s largest grain producer—about half of the global total—with ten percent of the world’s grain coming from France. Lower EU subsidies would increase grain produce and lower prices for bread, pasta….

In the US—which produces 16 percent of the world’s grain– crop prices are kept artificially high by something called the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). This 1930s piece of legislation allows the federal government to pay farmers NOT to grow certain crops in order to prevent a surplus which would drive prices down. Scrapping, or at least adjusting the AAA,  would encourage American farmers to grow more which would help to make up for the loss of grain from Eastern Europe.

America also provides a significant amount of food aid to the developing world, but the cost of that aid is kept artificially high by Washington’s insistence that all the food is carried in US-registered ships and that those ships can only carry American-produced wheat and food products.

It is in the interests of the developed world that the developing world is fed and stable. The difficulty that Western world governments will face is persuading their voters.

• Fifteen thousand US troops have been either sent from America or re-deployed to NATO’s Eastern blank in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. The total number of American soldiers now based in Europe is 90,000. But before NATO supporters become too excited by this show of martial resolve, it should be noted that at the height of the Cold War in 1960, when the Berlin Wall was built, there were 400,000 American soldiers in Europe spread across 100 sites. One should also remember that NATO has a border with Russia in the Arctic region as well as in Eastern Europe. Until 1999, Norway was the only NATO ally with a land border with Russia. Military planners are working on this strategic fact next week with a military manoeuvre in Norway dubbed “Cold Response”. The military exercise involves 30,000 troops from 27 countries, including 3,000 US marines. These exercises are meant to be held every other year, but because of reluctance from the Trump Administration and Covid, they have not taken place since 2014. This is a pity, because Norway is one of the most strategically placed NATO countries. During World War Two, its long North Atlantic coastline dotted with sheltered fjords, provided Hitler’s navy with a forward base from which to terrorize Allied shipping in the North Atlantic.
• In the meantime, Ukrainian Volodomyr Zelensky is pleading for more weapons. The Biden Administration has responded this week by dispatching another 2,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 2,000 shoulder-launched Javelin launchers, Another 15,000 anti-tank and surface to air missiles are being provided by other European countries, mainly the UK and Sweden. The EU meanwhile has upped its spending on military equipment for Ukraine to $1 billion. Ukraine will need every penny of it. The British and American arms manufacturers are not giving away their equipment. They are selling it, and just one Javelin missile costs $175,000 whether it hits or misses its Russian target.
• One of the key indicators of how worried Vladimir Putin is about domestic opposition is his treatment of Alexei Navalny—Putin’s most vocal, visible and best known political opponent. Until this week, Navalny was residing in a relatively comfortable penal colony just east of Moscow. He had been sent there to serve a two and a half year sentence because he broke the conditions of his parole when he flew to Germany for emergency medical treatment after a Kremlin attempt to poison him (spot the irony). Now, a Moscow court has found him guilty of fraud and contempt of court and sentenced him to another nine years in a maximum security gulag somewhere in the depths of Siberia. This a sure sign that Putin is worried that public opinion may turn against him. He should be. Even though the Kremlin has disbanded Navalny’s organization, arrested and goaled Navalny and other key figures, he cannot incarcerate the tens of thousands who supported Navalny. They are prominent among those who can be seen bravely demonstrating against the war. The treatment of their leader is a clear message from Putin: Oppose me at your peril.
• In the meantime, the war continues. It would appear that at the moment there is a stalemate with some gains by the Ukrainians in beleaguered Kyiv’s beleaguered suburban towns and some by the Russians in the south and east. The Ukrainian flag has been re-hoisted over a few towns outside Kyiv which were briefly occupied by Russian tanks. But in the southeastern city of Mariupol the civilian population is trapped in bombed-out ruins without food, water or medical supplies. Russian forces appear to be making slow progress towards the even more strategic port of Odessa and crawling forward north and west from Crimea. Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons while Biden has warned Russia that using chemical weapons will have “severe consequences.” Despite the apparent Russian stall, the signs are that Putin will double down. There are indications that he is moving troops from the Pacific region. Mercenaries are being recruited from Syria and Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko may commit soldiers from his 60,000-strong armed forces. As a guide to what Ukraine might expect, observers are looking at the first and second Chechen wars. When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991 the Muslim enclave of Chechnya in North Caucasus declared itself independent. The result was an invasion by Russian forces and a bloody war which cost an estimated 100,000 lives. But the Chechens won round one. In 1996 a ceasefire was negotiated and the Russians withdrew. But this left a bad taste in the mouths of Russian nationalists, including Vladimir Putin. In 1999 he became prime minister. Almost simultaneously there were a number of alleged Chechen terrorist attacks. Putin used the attacks as an excuse to launch a second – even more brutal—Chechen war. The capital of Grozny was left in ruins after a three month siege; another 100,000 died and the war dragged on for several more years before Russia was able to establish control over the 6,680 square miles that is Chechnya. Ukraine, by the way is 233,100 square miles.

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Tom Arms is the foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He is also author of The Encyclopedia of the Cold War and the recently published America Made in Britain which sold out in the US after six weeks but is still available in the UK.

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