Search Results for *"energy crisis"*
August 23, 2010
Vicious Circle
For the top management of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), arranging monthly oil import payments is now an ordeal. The company, which holds almost 70% market share in the country’s downstream oil business, stands cash- strapped as the key public and…
May 27, 2010
Interview: Dr Gulfraz Ahmad, Former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
“We need this gas urgently, but on the other hand, not at this price” - Dr Gulfraz Ahmad, Former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas The Iran-Pakistan pipeline agreement, inked in March, is the latest step Islamabad has made…
December 10, 2009
Running on Empty
For over five decades, Pakistan thought it had large enough natural gas reserves to fuel the economy forever. Then, sometime in the winter of 2005, people in parts of the NWFP and Punjab woke up to find their stoves and…
August 8, 2009
Shutters Down
“In July 2007, the power cuts in Pakistan lasted no more than three to four hours a day. In July 2008, Pakistanis had to face eight to ten hours of loadshedding a day. And today, power cuts now last 16-18…
August 8, 2009
Winds of Change
Global warming, melting ice caps and increasing pollution have forced many countries to take a serious look at alternative energy options. In Pakistan, an energy crisis of different dimensions has the government examining new energy sources: too much demand and…
August 8, 2009
Powerless
It is not normal protocol for World Bank vice presidents to make presentations. But this was a special occasion: it was March 2005 and Pakistan’s new-found prosperity was at risk. So as General Musharraf sat to listen at the Presidency…
August 7, 2009
The Power Thieves
Just off the National Highway in Bin Qasim Town, there is a place that the eye can never miss. A jungle of wires runs atop bamboo sticks in an open ground. Hooked onto the electricity transmission lines of the KESC…
March 12, 2008
The Dark Horse
The February 18, 2008 elections have yielded surprising results, at least in the Punjab. Most political pundits had predicted that the PPP would have a slight edge over the PML-N in the Punjab as a consequence of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.…