Living in Pakistan, you easily get familiar with the term load shedding. Unfortunately, the country has been facing this adversity for many years now, however, the governments have failed to come up with a proper plan to find a solution to this problem.
The problem of load shedding is not only limited to rural areas, it has afflicted those in big cities as well. With mankind being completely dependent on electricity, it has become quite impossible to survive without this necessity. This is particularly true during the hot summer months in Pakistan.
Until the government finds a proper solution to overcome the electricity shortfall, let’s look at a few tips on how to survive these perilous times. Graana.com, Pakistan’s smartest property portal, features several ways to survive load shedding.
What Causes Load Shedding?
Load shedding occurs when the production of electricity does not meet the demand of the consumers. When there is no alternate way to overcome this shortfall of power, the power supply to some areas gets interrupted.
Usually, this happens in a pattern on the basis of a schedule so that people can plan their routine around the power outage timings. This type of load shedding is known as rotational load shedding.
In Pakistan, people often face unplanned load shedding, which causes a lot of hassle. To counter this issue, many people employ alternative solutions.
Ways to Survive Load Shedding Schedule in Pakistan
Following are some of the simple tips that can help you survive load shedding in Pakistan.
- Finding the Pattern of Load Shedding
- Make Preparations Accordingly
Finding the Pattern of Load Shedding
The first and foremost step you can take to tackle the problem is to find out the exact timings at which load shedding happens in your area.
Besides finding the exact hours, it is essential to determine the number of times it happens during a day.
Keep track of the timing of the power outage for one week and you will eventually figure out the pattern. However, you cannot always find out the exact schedule as they don’t practice rotational load shedding in all areas.
In that case, you can call your local electricity provider to find out the schedule of the day, so that you can plan your tasks accordingly.
Make Preparations Accordingly
Now that you have determined the pattern of load shedding in your area, all you need to do is to complete your daily tasks accordingly.
First of all, you need to take a sticky note and write the load shedding schedule in it, and then paste it on your refrigerator.
This will keep on reminding you about the schedule so that you don’t forget to finish your tasks according to the schedule.
Some of the major tasks might include:
- Ironing your clothes on time
- Doing Your Laundry
- Filling your Water Tanks
- Cooking
- Cleaning
Charging Your Devices on Time
It is essential to keep your electronic devices such as laptops or mobile phones charged so that you do not have trouble using them during times of power outage.
It is essentially important for those that work from home.
Using Power Bank
Even though charging on time is the first thing you should go for, there can be times when you don’t get to charge your devices on time because of various reasons. In that case, you will be left with a powerless laptop or phone.
Manufacturers have come up with a wise solution to tackle this issue – a power bank. A power bank is your pocket source of energy. As the name suggests, it stores electricity like a rechargeable battery and can be used when you need to charge your phone and the power is off in your area.
Moreover, it can also come in handy when you are on a journey or at a place where you can’t find a socket to charge your phone.
Buy Rechargeable Fans and Lights for Emergency
In a country like Pakistan where the summer season temperature rises above 40 degrees Celsius, it becomes extremely difficult to live without electric fans and air cooling systems.
You can buy rechargeable fans at affordable costs, which can be helpful during the times of load shedding in summer. These days, many companies are producing rechargeable fans, and you can easily find one in the market that suits your budget.
Besides, electric fans, rechargeable lights are also very important. They will come in handy during nighttime.
Freeze Drinking Water in Containers
During the times of summer, it is almost vital to have access to cold drinking water. As load shedding in Pakistan occurs mostly during the summer season, refrigerators, freezers, and dispensers (which are powered by electricity) get turned off.
So, to be prepared for this, one thing that you can do is freeze drinking water in containers and plastic bottles.
If you just put those water bottles in the refrigerator, the water will stay cold for a short time, however, frozen bottles will take more time to melt, hence providing you cold water for a longer time during the absence of electricity.
Affordable Alternatives
If you can’t afford to buy rechargeable lamps and fans, you can go for other affordable alternatives such as hand fans, candles, and gas lamps.
Candles are not costly at all. Always keep a pack of candles in your house so that you can use those in case of emergency.
Make sure you put these candles in a place where you can easily access them. Besides candles, you can also buy gas lamps to light up the space.
First, you will need to connect them with a gas supply, as they cannot function without it. Hand fans are another useful thing that people have been using for ages. You can buy them from almost anywhere at a really low cost.
Even if you can afford better alternatives, you should always be prepared for the worst. In case a power outage lasts for long periods in your area, the batteries of your rechargeable devices might die. In that case, a hand fan and a candle will come in handy.
Buying a UPS
You will find a UPS generator quite frequently in the majority of the houses in Pakistan. A UPS is an alternate energy resource. It comes with rechargeable batteries and has the ability to run low-power electronics such as lights, and fans. You cannot run appliances that require high voltage like A.C. and Irons.
Although it does not provide power to the whole house, it still has the capacity to provide power for basic things.
One of the major benefits of having a UPS is that you don’t have to turn on electricity manually when the power goes off. It automatically turns on and prevents you from the hassle.
This lets you continue your tasks with a flow without any interruption.
Get a Generator
A generator is different from a UPS. It does not store power, in fact, it generates power using fuel. It has the capacity to provide power to more heavy electrical appliances such as A.C. and irons, so it can be more beneficial in these terms.
A portable generator is by far the most costly alternative way to survive load shedding. One downside of traditional generators is that you will have to turn it on manually every time there is a power outage.
However, these days you can find generators that come with an automatic start mode. They are a bit more costly than manual ones.
You will find two types of generators on the market, one that runs on petrol and the other that runs on gas. They both differ in price, so you can buy the one that suits your budget.
Load shedding is not a new thing in Pakistan, it is an old age phenomenon. People have become accustomed to this, however, it does not lessen the problem any bit. It also has an impact on Pakistan’s economy.
In this blog, you can find some useful tips to make sure your days go more smoothly even in the absence of electricity and your routine does not get disturbed.
For more information, visit Graana blog.
