As of right now, the world is facing a shortage of energy and it has sent shock waves from Europe to Asia. And Pakistan is no exception. The energy industry in Pakistan is in crisis, due to a lack of energy output to keep up with the country’s rising demand during the past few decades. Pakistan is now reliant on imported energy resources like gas and oil.

The Asian Development Bank published a white paper in 2019 claiming that Pakistan is an energy-insecure country. Besides Pakistan, there are numerous countries worldwide including the developed ones that are also energy insecure. There are several examples of market growth followed by a downturn and severe contraction since the energy industry is, by nature, in a loop. But the current crises are different in several aspects.

The recent increase in energy costs has given us a glimpse into the future, where market disruptions might result if the transition to low-carbon energy sources is not adequately managed or stressed. According to Shazia Anwar Cheema, Pakistan might face an extremely challenging and disastrous winter as a result of the lack of long-term energy management strategies by policymakers.

The crisis is likely to worsen due to the Middle Eastern countries, which serve as the major source of imports, being severely impacted by the strain that Europe is experiencing as a result of the fuel and gas shortfall. The current bleak situation shows that the power shortfall at the moment is about 7,500 megawatts which subsequently results in 10-18 hours of load-shedding. This means the current supply is about 18,000 megawatts and the required supply is 25,000-25,500MW. Furthermore, Pakistan’s energy cost doubled in the last 9 months; it now stands at 15 billion USD.