After bearing with people during the Ramadan – the holy month of Muslims – the blackouts have returned in many parts of the country. Power supply is being shut down on an hourly basis, usually up to 4 hours daily. Fortunately, the situation is not that bad a crisis as it used to be during the summer.
The electric power crisis, one of the worst to happen in Pakistan’s history, started early in the summer this year. Ranging from 6 hours daily to as much as 10 hours a day in some suburban localities, the problem of rolling blackouts seriously interfered with the daily life of citizens in households, offices, schools, and marketplace. Several protests were launched in different parts of the country including protests by university students whose studies suffered from the non-supply of electric power.
The situation suddenly, and somewhat unexpectedly, got better since the first day of Ramadan (start of September, 2008) when power supply for mass consumption was restored with no, or very little, interruption throughout the country. While many attributed the change in power supply to the general reverence for the holy month, some critical thinkers contended that the restoration of power coincides with the resolution of a long-going conflict between WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan) and the government, the latter being unable to pay WAPDA dues worth billions of rupees.
Since the weather in Pakistan has segued into a cool autumn, the bouncing back of blackouts is not being taken as a seriously annoying situation. The duration of non-supply of power is no more than 3 to 4 hours a day in many parts of the country. The scorching heat of the dog days is gone and power interruption does not seriously affect the sleep-and-work routine of people. Still, a large number of people have secured lighting items like chargeable emergency lights, battery-operated torches, candles, and lanterns for emergency use. The more well-off part of the population, especially those living in big cities has been using alternative power sources like UPS and generators to make up for the power shortage.
