**4.2 Sever electricity shortfall**

Pakistan is experiencing severe electricity shortages. Electricity consumption has increased throughout all economic sectors particularly the agriculture sector because *Agrovoltaic and Smart Irrigation: Pakistan Perspective DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106973*

**Figure 7.**

*Electricity production scenario by source and the cumulative loss to agriculture sector due to electricity shortfall reproduce here from [51, 52].*

about 1 GW of energy is consumed annually by the irrigation practices only [47, 48]. In 2020, electricity generation was about 22 GW compared to a peak demand of about 25 GW, however, this peak demand is continuously increasing every year, therefore, the whole country is subjected to daily blackouts of about 3−4 h [49]. The electricity shortfall is mainly caused by multiple issues including inadequate power policies, exploitation of indigenous resources, high transmission and distribution systems, and persistent utilization of continuous antiquated thermal power plants that consume fossil fuels [50]. The severe electricity shortfall triggers a reduction in GDP growth of the country by 4%, because of closures of hundreds of manufacturing plants and less agricultural production [47]. **Figure 7** shows the electricity production scenario by different sources (coal, gas, and fossil fuels) that is not enough to meet the peak demand and the cumulative loss to the agriculture sector due to electricity shortfall and this shortfall is increasing every year. For instance, cumulative loss to the agriculture sector in 2020 was observed at Rs. 42.74 billion while in 2021 this loss was observed at about Rs. 45 billion (PKR).
