Time to Rethink Energy Options

Pakistan energy crisis is not the only reason which necessitates to explore the alternative means of energy, the renewable sources also promise uninterrupted supply of power for indefinite period. The substitute mean is not only economical but also environment friendly. 

The power crisis in Pakistan is taking its toll, damaging economy, social cycles and badly effecting daily life of average citizen. The ignorance showed on the aforementioned issue by the proclaimed “prudent” governments have amplified the magnitude of the problem. The catastrophic effects of power shortages on the Industry and agriculture, which are strongly linked together, have deteriorated the economy.

Industrial sector of Pakistan is most badly hit by the power scarcity, the flight of capital from Pakistan has caused industrial shutdown which has given birth to massive unemployment and poverty. According to the recent economic stats with current GDP progress, one million people will be enlisted in the list of “unemployed” and several will be under-employed. This economic scenario is developing as the result of flawed national policies which imprudently ignored imminent energy issues.

The emphasis remained on IPPs and other temporary measures to counter the ever increasing shortfall of electricity, instead the focus should have been to integrate new sources of energy in the National Grid. The designs to counter the energy crisis exist in slides and files alone. The harsh reality is that no substantial work has been done on ground to tackle the menace of power shortfall. The genie is out the bottle and government and the institutions are showing incapacity to handle the grave situation.

Pakistan is naturally gifted country with abundance of resources, there to be exploited. For Pakistan the power generation potential is not the issue, it is lack of implementation on the policies which promise salvation from the power shortage. Millions of rupees have been spent on the surveys and project designs only to be home to dust in form of files. These reports are the research work of public and private institutions, identifying the problem and offering remedy. These research work in detail discuss Pakistan’s “conventional” and “alternative” means of power generation. These reports also identify the regions according to the potential they hold for the conventional or alternative mean of power generation.

There are range of alternative means which can address immediate and long term energy needs. Different means of substitute source of energy can be exploited in different parts of Pakistan as they hold different potential to offer.  In the developed world serious efforts are being made to switch from conventional means of energy generation, which are limited, expensive and environment damaging, to alternative means which include Solar, Geo Thermal, Wind, Micro/Macro Hydro and Tidal.

Solar photovoltaic cells (PV) convert sunlight into electricity and photovoltaic production has been increasing by an average of more than 20% each year since 2002, making it a fast-growing energy technology. Photo Voltaic is an appropriate mean to generate energy for the dispersed population and national Grid. Apart from energy generation issue, electricity infrastructure is another problem which is stunning the Pakistani growth and confining the modern agrarian and Industrial opportunities to the selected regions. . The provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan, and the Thar Desert are especially suited for the utilization of solar energy through photovoltaic. Baluchistan, the largest province of Pakistan area-wise, has a population density of just 21 persons per square kilometer, with 77% of the population living in rural areas. About 90% of the villages are yet to be electrified. Large distances with absolutely no approach roads separate these villages.

Microhydel potential of Pakistan is about 1200 MW according to the research paper issued in 2007/8 by Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies. The Microhydel potential exists in Northern regions of Pakistan as well as in the Southern plain regions. But unfortunately only 5% of the available resources have been exploited by the state. For Microhydel power plants with capacities 100 and 500 kW each, an estimated potential of 300 MW and more than 400 MW, respectively exists in Northern Area only In the incumbency of three decades no prudent steps were taken by keeping in view the future energy needs of Pakistan.

Wind Energy is an excellent mean to provide electricity, it is inexpensive and environment friendly, above all Pakistan has the potential of 20,000 MW for economically viable wind projects. “Wind speed 5–7 m/s persists in coastal regions of Sindh and Baluchistan provinces and in a number of North West frontier valleys” PCERT report.

Unfortunately no work has been on the Geo Thermal projects in Pakistan. The Pakistan has tremendous potential as it is situated on the intersection of tectonic plates of Sub-continent. The time necessitates the exploitation of all available means to achieve multiple political and economic objectives.

Biogas is another clean mean of energy generation which will not only help in the generation of energy but it will keep the rural region clean. Total biogas generation potential is of 14.25 million m3/day is available in the country. PCRET has already done considerable work on Biogas. According to the stats, biogas plants (10M3, 15M3, 20M3 gas production capacity per day) have been designed and installed in Sialkot, Narowal, Jhang and other places. As per field reports, the success rate of such plants is very high.

The combined potential of alternative means for power generation is more than100, 000 MW. These resources of energy are inexhaustible for another 1 billion years (until the Sun dies), meeting the pressing energy, around 4500 MW in the pinnacle season, and future needs. With the generation of energy on epic proportion, Pakistan can create an economic Model in which the state provides subsidized electricity to the Industry, attracting investment from all around the world. The possibility for such economic model exists as Pakistan holds the great potential to generate inexpensive energy.

The energy policy of 2013-18, Roshan Pakistan,, by the federal government has flaws as the remedy suggested in the policy again emphasizes on the IPPs (privatization of state’s power generating units) and development of power sources which use conventional means. The minister for the special assistant to the Prime Minister has claimed that each unit of wind energy will cost 16 to 17 rupee this seems to be quite irrelevant to the facts when a private company offered each unit for 15 paisa in Bangladesh.

According to the new policy all subsidies on electricity will end and the price of electricity unit will enter double digits. This is not the promised deliverance which offers the economic revival and prosperity. Polices should be made by keeping in view the relief for the masses, industrial expansion and agrarian modernization which hugely depends on the availability of un-interrupted low-price electricity.

Pakistan’s Industrial expansion and modernization of agriculture depends on power generation and means which will be exploited for the generation. Pakistan also has conventional means to fulfill the pressing and long-term energy needs but the process is expensive and polluting plus it will exhaust eventually. This gives sound rationale to the use of Renewable Energy Resources, which eventually is the future of the world.

 Note: The article has exclusively written for the More Magazine.