The electricitysectorinPakistaniscurrentlyfacingtheformidablechallengesofaninsufficient installed
capacity,asuboptimalinfrastructure,circulardebtandrevenueshortage.Alloftheseproblemshamper
socioeconomic activities.Thispaperdiagnosestheoverallconditionoftheelectricitysectoraswellas
the potentialandrecentprogressintheimplementationofalternativeenergyprojectsinthecontextof
the targetssetintheNationalEnergySecurityPlan(NESP).Theassessmentrevealstheunsatisfactory
overallprogressoftheimplementationoftheNESPingeneralandalternativeenergyinparticular.We
assess thatiftheshort-termmeasurescontainedintheNESPhavebeenadequatelyexecuted,were
enough tobridgetheexistingelectricitysupply-demandgapandthecountrymightnotbefacingan
ongoing electricitycrisis.Further,weinvestigatedthespecific alternativeenergypolicyissuesthat
hinder thissector’s developmentinPakistan.Weconcludethatfueldiversification bymeansofthe
maximum utilisationofalternativeenergyresourceswouldhelpinsolvingthecrisisandwouldalso
furnish thelong-termenergyneedsofthecountry.Finally,werecommendacomprehensivestrategyfor
revampingtheelectricitysectoranddevelopingthealternativeenergyresourcesneededtotacklethe
ongoing electricitycrisisinPakistan.