Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain, We are a country without electricity and that is our biggest problem right now from one end of our border to the other. All we do is protest, use expletives for the rulers, and that’s about it. The richer among us choose the expensive options like generators and multiple UPS machines. Instead of thinking out of the box smartly, all we are doing is calling names and waiting for some miracle to happen.
Government after paying the circular debt has increased the supply of power to around 15,450 megawatt. But as soon as they generated and supplied that more power, the consumption increased manifolds. The demand of power increased because everybody started running multiple air conditioners. Shop-keepers started illuminating their shops with hundreds of bulbs and lights, and so on. The result is that we are back to that old situation and the infrastructure is bursting at the seams.
There is no doubt that government needs to do a lot and we need at least 20,000 megawatt for now, and it will increase by 1000 megwatt every year due to our unbridled population growth. I hope that government will be pushed to work on more energy projects as they won’t want to meet the ill fate like former PPP government. But as a nation we also have some responsibility. Why don’t we change our bad habits? Why can’t we understand that electricity is not a luxury but a necessity and its not that we can pay for it, so we can use as much as we want? Why can’t we rise early and open our shops and use the sun, instead of trying to create our own suns late through the night? Why don’t we stop stealing the power, and why don’t we pinpoint those who do? Why don’t we pay our bills on time?
But then again requesting people to do above things won’t get us anywhere. Government needs to take this bitter pill and discipline the people. They might loose the votes, but they need to do that, otherwise they will loose it all. Local bodies elections are coming, and government might go weak to get votes, but it would be a shame if they do that. But above all, our people need to think differently and in an innovative way. Why don’t we go solar? Instead of generators, we should opto for solar energy. That’s a one time expense, and then it not only generates power, it also can be a good business. Numerous countries around the world including Australia, China, India, Brazil who are energy deficient using this technology.
The benefits of solar energy are enormous. Sun is absolutely free. Its pollution free, and yes we need to think about it too. Despite of its upfront cost, its very cost effective in the short and long run. The ongoing maintenance for the solar panels and other equipment is almost nil. So install and forget is possible. Most systems have a life span of 30 to 40 years. Many companies offer thirty to forty year warranty. Unlike traditional monstrous panel systems, many modern systems are sleeker such as Uni-Solar rolls that lay directly on the roof like regular roofing materials. For starters we can install small solar panels to run few lights and a fan. Just imagine if everybody does that, then how much power will be saved in national grid and for individuals, there will be much reduced power bills. Government should remove all taxes and duties from the solar panels and get the ball rolling for the people.