In August 2009, Pakistan faced one of its worst electricity crises in decades that resulted in social unrest and an economic downturn. Waves of public protests, demonstrations, and incidents of violence demanded that the government take immediate, meaningful steps to improve quality of life.

Working in close partnership with the Government of Pakistan, USAID quickly responded. Both parties agreed that the per-formance of existing power plants should be improved rather than build new ones. The Tarbela Hydro Power Plant became the highest priority project.

A team of USAID experts quickly visited Tarbela to assess the potential short-term projects that would quickly restore lost power generating capacity. USAID's technical support was met with enthusiasm by the plant managers at Tarbela, who consulted with the USAID team and determined that due to gaps in repair and maintenance, the plant was operating at nearly 10 percent less than peak efficiency.

"USAID's mobilization of this support on a priority basis will help our plant generate significantly more power when things are brought back on track," Ajmal Shah, the chief engineer at the Tarbela plant said. "In conjunction with similar projects at other plants that the United States has identified, will make a mean-ingful impact on the energy crisis in Pakistan."

Similar sentiments were echoed by other public sector partners and leaders of the business community.

USAID's August assessment turned into a tangible plan in Oc-tober when Secretary of State Clinton visited Pakistan and an-nounced immediate assistance to restore Tarbela's lost generation capacity. The refurbishment will cost significantly less than building a new power plant.

This assistance will gradually add 225 megawatts of power into Pakistan's power system by mid-2010. This additional power will directly benefit over two million people, and will significantly contribute to Pakistan's economic growth and social stability.