IS THERE A SOLUTION TO PAKISTAN'S ENERGY PUZZLE?

KARACHI -- Asia now hosts about one-fourth of the world's operational nuclear power units. As of June 2021, six Asian markets and regions (Japan, South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan, India, and Pakistan) were running 113 reactors producing 97.4 GW of energy. Over half of these reactors were built before 2011.

According to the World Nuclear Association, around two-thirds of reactors currently under construction are based in Asia. As energy prices rise and energy security concerns threaten the balance of power in the region, Asian economies are building new nuclear power plants and restarting halted reactors. Pakistan and India are among the countries that are doing this. Nuclear power contributed to 8.4 per cent to the total electricity generation from Pakistan between 2020 and 2021.

Countries in Asia have shown a commitment to limit their dependency on coal power plants, prioritising renewable energy to meet climate targets. However, progress is painfully slow, and some countries have backtracked on their goals. Rosy public statements about success in this endeavor have proven premature, and many countries, including Vietnam, have reversed plans to replace coal with renewables due to concerns about future power supplies. Energy crises, arguably caused by an overreliance on coal, are being addressed in a predictable manner, either promoting more nuclear energy or coal.

In the fiscal year 2019-2020, four coal-fired CPEC power plants generated 19 percent of Pakistan's electricity. The 4.62 GW of coal-fired generation funded by CPEC includes the 1,320 MW Huaneng Shandong Ruyi-Sahiwal Coal Power Plant, the 1,320 MW Port Qasim Coal Fired Power Plant, the 1,320 MW HubCo Coal Fired Power Plant, and the 660 MW Engro Thar Coal Power Plant, all of which began supplying electricity to the national grid between 2017 and 2019. Construction on the Thal Nova, Thar Energy (HubCo), and Shanghai Electric (SSRL Thar Coal Block I) power plants to increase 1,980 MW of capacity is currently underway.

Measure of energy balance

According to WorldData's Pakistan profile, total consumption of 92.33 billion kWh of electric energy per year is the most important measure in Pakistan's energy balance. This equates to an average of 410 kWh per person. According to this, Pakistan can completely rely on self-generated energy. The total output of all electric energy producing facilities is 110 billion kWh, accounting for 119 percent of total requirements. The remainder of...