Pakistan is a developing country and like any other nation on the way to development, we have faced energy crises for a long period of time. With the government’s continuous efforts, we have been able to control the energy situation to some extent, however, the bigger part of the problem needs to be taken care of. Pakistan is currently producing electricity to fulfill the energy demand through diverse sources.
Major Source of Electricity in Pakistan
The reliance on these sources and their percentage in the production of electricity varies a lot and all of them have their implications. You might have wondered at some point – if you are an energy-savvy person –which is the largest source of electricity in Pakistan. In this blog, we are going to discuss not only the major sources of electricity but also the largest source of electricity in Pakistan.
Thermal
The previous governments have been accelerating the production of electricity through thermal sources during their tenure. This has led to a rapid increase in the generation of electricity thus curtailing the electricity crises to a major extent. These thermal sources include gas, LNG, RLNG, coal, etc. Pakistan has really large reserves of coal however, the mining has been slow and outdated because of this the country has never been able to use its coal potential to the full. But this has not stopped us from using coal because if we cannot extract coal, we can still import it. Governments have been importing coal to produce electricity. Similarly, LNG, RLNG, and petroleum also take a fair share of the country’s annual imports. Petroleum consumption in Pakistan far exceeds the inner supply and thus we have to resort to imports for a big chunk of the total petroleum used. As for gas, Pakistan has a very extensive gas network spreading thousands of kilometers to supply gas to more than 10 million consumers in the country. Cumulatively, all thermal sources account for approximately 58% of electricity produced in the country.
Hydro
Hydro means the production of electricity through the water dams. Pakistan’s two most famous and biggest dams Mangla and Tarbela produce the major chunk of hydroelectricity for the country. Pakistan has been investing in constructing more dams to counter the energy crises. For this purpose, the former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and the ex-chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar set up a dam fund for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams to which the public donated wholeheartedly. The construction of the dams has been started under the supervision of the Prime Minister. Hydroelectricity is not only cheap and a renewable source of electricity but accounts for approximately 30% of the total electricity production in the country.
Nuclear
Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998 and declared that it became a nuclear power only to stabilize the power balance in South Asia and Pakistan will be using nuclear energy for the larger benefit of the population and humanitarian purposes. Since then, Pakistan has been advancing in the nuclear sector to utilize its immense power to create electricity. Nuclear fission produces a lot of heat which can be used to turn water into steam. The steam then runs turbines and electricity is generated. Pakistan has been using nuclear power for electricity for some time now. Recently the nuclear power plant in Karachi KANUPP-2 became functional and was connected to the grid delivering 1100MW of electricity to the country. KANUPP-3 is scheduled to be up and running in 2022 thus taking the percentage of nuclear electricity production in the country to 10%.
Renewables
Pakistan has neglected renewable energy sources for a very long time; however, the good news is that people are turning towards renewable energy with enthusiasm and the sector is getting a lot of attention. Pakistan’s renewable energy industry focuses mainly on solar energy, wind energy, and biomass energy. Initially, wind and solar energy, each accounted for 1% of the share of the total energy production capacity of the country but now due to recent investments in Solar Projects, it is expected that we will soon see a rise in the percentage that solar accounts for. The wind has a lot of potential in the coastal and desert areas, However, out of all the renewable energy sources, Pakistan has a humungous solar potential with some sources claiming it to be more than 60,000MW.
The Largest And The Smallest
So, by far you know that with a share of about 58%, thermal energy leads the electricity production in the country. Hydro is second with about 30% and nuclear accounting for almost 7 to 8% while renewables contribute only up to 2-3% of the country’s electricity capacity.
Concluding Remark
It’s true that we have been contaminating the environment for a very long time now despite the warning from various scientific researchers. Our negligence, stubbornness, and negative behavior to ignore the destruction of the environment has brought a bigger disaster on us – Environmental crises. The wildfires in Australia, Turkey, and Greece, the floods in Turkey, China, India, Bangladesh, and many other countries, the melting of some of the biggest glaciers at the north pole, and the destruction of various species are all the consequences of our cumulative actions. The worst thing is that many countries like Pakistan are still focusing on fulfilling their energy demands with fossil fuels and not renewables. It is the need of the hour to immediately start working on reducing and then ending the use of fossil fuels all over the world. Invest in renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal, which do not produce any kind of pollution. Plant more trees and stop using plastic, save electricity by reduction and conservation, and stop deforestation and destruction of habitat. Be a responsible Earthian and help others do the same too. This planet is ours and we need it so urge the government to reduce the use of fossil fuel in the country and emphasize switching to renewables like Solar, wind, etc. On your part, you can also make the switch to solar and thus play a role in saving the Earth. If you need any information, you can get to us by contacting us through any of the channels.
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