Pakistani government has already declared a 'power emergency'. There is even a possibility of switching off mobile and internet services due to power shortage. Markets and offices are shutting earlier than usual and public transport is being affected.

 

This power crisis has only made things tougher for the incumbent government of Shehbaz Sharif saddled with political setbacks, economic meltdown and a divided military. The repairs at the Neelam-Jhelum hydropower power plant are likely to take around six months, leaving the country scampering for additional power from other sources which are scarce.

 

In April this year, for instance, Prime Minister Sharif was informed that 27 power plants with a combined generation capacity of over 7000 megawatts were out of order due to technical faults or lack of fuel.

 

The shutting down of the 508 billion plant has only made things worse. Although the root cause of the issue is yet to be known, it is believed that a 3.5 km long tunnel has been blocked.

 

The tunnel is used to pump water from the river to the power plant to generate electricity. The water is afterwards pumped into the tunnel to flow back to the river. The problem is in the tunnel that diverts water from the power plant to the river.

 

The 58 kilometres of tunnel and its length is one of the keynote features of the plan, was constructed by Chinese contractor CGGC-CMEC (Gezhouba Group).

 

Pakistan's water authority, WAPDA, has engaged the same Chinese firm to identify and rectify the blockage. The authority has also sought advice from the US firm, Stantec. Two years ago, the Chinese firm bagged another plant project on river Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at a value of USD 1.9 billion.