Sharif's Pakistan Election Prize: Solving the Energy Crisis

The Pakistani election is over, and summer’s arrival will present the new government, to be led by Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif, with its first test. As the country starts to bake in temperatures of up to 50C (122F), Pakistanis have drastically increased their use of air conditioners. Electric utilities, coping with supply shortages, have cut off power throughout the day, leaving residents without lights and fans for prolonged periods.

Blackouts have sparked violent street protests in the past and played a major role in the defeat of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party of President Asif Ali Zardari in the recent election. In the most affected areas, outages can last as long as 18 hours a day. The power deficit hit 6,000 megawatts in high-demand periods last summer. “Sharif’s Muslim League won the election because the previous government failed to deliver on the energy front,” says Zafar Iqbal Sobani, former chief executive officer of Hub Power, the nation’s second-largest private power producer.