Nearly a week after imposing unannounced power cuts on most of the country, the government has finally acknowledged what millions of Pakistanis already knew: their lights are going out not by accident, but by design.
Instead of accepting the situation for what it is, i.e. loadshedding, the Power Division has chosen to hide its deficiencies behind the ultimately hollow phrase of “Peak Relief Strategy.” The rebranding would be amusing if it were not so deeply frustrating. Such semantics fool no one, and a power cut by any other name still leaves homes in darkness.
There is no denying the genuine and serious energy crunch facing the country amid disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict, including constrained oil supplies and the near-cessation of LNG imports. We can all accept such conditions leave policymakers with few easy options. A degree of austerity, including but not limited to managed outages, is an understandable measure and governments must make difficult choices during crises. What is indefensible, however, is authorities’ brazen attempt to obscure those choices behind euphemisms, insulting public intelligence.
Belatedly calling loadshedding a “Peak Relief Strategy” does nothing to soften its impact, significantly eroding public trust. Effective governance requires far more than timely decision-making; it entails transparent communication and an adherence to ground realities over optics to avoid deepening the public skepticism they should be working to alleviate. Pakistanis are no stranger to power shortages; we recognize the signs, the schedules, and the consequences. Pretending otherwise only feeds conspiracy theories and encourages public derision at a time it hurts the most.
We must also recognize the specific timing of these outages, from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. That this “management” is occurring entirely after sunset suggests authorities are quietly relying on the daytime contribution of net-metered solar connections to bridge the supply gap. During daylight hours, distributed solar generation eases pressure on the grid. Once the sun has set and that support vanishes, the burden shifts back. In effect, the state is benefiting from private solar investments while avoiding an honest conversation about the extent of the shortfall.
This contradiction becomes even more glaring when viewed alongside recent policy decisions seeking to discourage solar adoption. Since coming to power, the PMLN-led government has imposed increased taxes on solar equipment and reduced buyback rates for net-metered electricity. The justification, routinely offered by Power Minister Awais Leghari, has often been that solar users place an unfair burden on the system or contribute to rising tariffs for others. Yet the current crisis reveals the exact opposite: distributed solar is acting as a crucial buffer, reducing the severity of shortages during peak sunlight hours.
The government cannot have it both ways. It cannot penalize solar uptake on one hand while quietly depending on it on the other. Such policy inconsistency not only discourages future investment in renewable energy but also undermines long-term energy security. If anything, the present situation should serve as a wake-up call to accelerate, not hinder, the transition towards decentralized and renewable energy sources.
Ultimately, while this crisis is not entirely of Pakistan’s making, it has exposed longstanding weaknesses within our energy system. From overreliance on imported fuels to inconsistent policy direction and a failure to build resilience, we have wasted decades in much-needed reforms.
The path forward requires honesty and clarity. The government must abandon its impulse to hide behind invented slogans and instead engage the public with candor. Acknowledge the reality of loadshedding, explain constraints, and—most importantly—align policy with necessity by embracing, rather than resisting, solar adoption.
Pakistanis are a resilient people and do not shy from enduring hardship. What they should not be asked to endure is obfuscation cloaked behind claims of public service.