“Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security.” (Benjamin Franklin)

We are back to it again. The cause may be different, but the outcome is not. A new geopolitical event—this time a US-Israel attack on Iran—has once again exposed Pakistan to economic shocks and to our energy insecurities. If the event and the outcome are similar, our response is also not different. In a snap reaction, the government has raised fuel prices in the country, advising the nation to adopt austerity measures—necessary first steps, but ad hoc and issue-driven, as usual.

Such steps won’t secure the energy supplies we require for social and economic development or protect us from similar future threats. For that, Pakistan will need a vision-led systemic overhaul of its entire energy system—production, transportation, delivery, and utilisation—and transform it along the lines suggested below.

Energy undoubtedly is the lifeblood of modern society. It also underpins all other infrastructures, industries, and services in the country. The amount of energy required to produce a unit of GDP can be contested; what cannot be contested is that some basic amount of affordable energy is essential for the country’s economy and its people.

Pakistan currently suffers from abject energy poverty. Concurrently, it also faces serious risks to its current fuel supplies, which come mostly from abroad. Fossil fuel use for power generation, transportation, and industrial processes is also at the core of growing pollution in the world and the looming threat of climate change.

Pakistan faces a triple bind. It must provide affordable and reliable energy supplies to its economy and people while preserving its fragile environment. This is certainly a tall and daunting challenge, but as the adage goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. The country must find sustainable energy supplies to make its dreams of progress and prosperity come true.

Electricity, which is a derived form of energy, is a superior energy carrier due to its clean nature, ease of control, and........

© The Friday Times