Pakistan power crisis deepened by mountain tourism | National

Load shedding is typical across much of fuel-short Pakistan, but few areas consistently suffer the same prolonged outages as Skardu city.

A surge in mountain tourism, driven by climbers and Pakistanis looking to escape heatwaves, is rapidly depleting the limited energy supply at the gateway to ascend K2, the world’s second-highest peak.

While higher-end hotels can supplement their supply with solar panels or fuel generators, many locals cannot afford such luxuries. 

“We have to reinvent everything that once used electricity,” said Bano.

“We no longer have an oven, we use a coal-heated iron for clothes,” the 41-year-old  teacher added. “When we come home tired from work, we cannot run a heater.”

– Tourism boom –

Skardu is the largest city in…