Pakistan Energy News 2013-2018

[Cyberian]

Overcoming energy crisis : PML-N plans to create Energy Ministry
Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has ambitious plans to overcome the energy crisis in the country by creating an Energy Ministry, elimination of circular debt permanently and developing agriculture sector into a full fledged viable economic industry.

Mafias and monopolies in case of major agriculture products will be done away with by putting in place appropriate agricultural marketing strategies.

Agricultural education in general and curriculum of agriculture universities in particular will be modernised for promotion of agriculture sector.

Power sector: According to the party’s manifesto, PML-N has plans that a Ministry of Energy will be created through the merger of ministries of Water and power and petroleum and natural resources.

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority will be reformed to remove the bottlenecks in the development of power sector.

It has plans to reform the power distribution sector by reforming all the distribution companies so as to enable such to recover their dues and reduce losses and theft. It has also plans to reform the power generation sector and reforms will be introduced in the companies producing electricity in the public sector.

Circular debt, which has been identified as major roadblock in the power sector is to be permanently abolished by improving recoveries and other reforms. It has also plans that it will rationalise energy tariffs in line with the international prices across all fuel.

Consensus will be developed among various stakeholders to facilitate setting up of hydropower projects, major one being the Diamer Bhasha Dam. Alternate renewable energy sources will be developed.

Agriculture: The PML-N will turn agriculture into a fully viable economic industry by changing the policy framework and terms of trade in favour of agriculture. Focus will be on small farmers as the real backbone of the rural economy by providing access to knowledge, inputs and markets. Priority will be given to the development of livestock sector.

Cooperative movement will be revitalised to meet the real needs of the rural population by setting up agri-service corporations with majority equity of the poor and managed by professional managers

To reform the agricultural credit system to ensure that at least 50 percent of the total is provided to the small farmers, and landowners are able to obtain credit on the basis of the market value of the land rather than outdated produce index units.

Pakistan will be converted into a large net exporter of food and high value crops by removal of restrictions on agricultural exports.

Building consensus on the basis of the 1991 Water Accord on the distribution of Indus River Water will allow new water projects to be undertaken and extension of irrigation facilities to additional areas. Full utilisation of available water resources will be ensured by expanding the on farm water management programme.

The PML-N will initiate schemes for crop insurance through private insurance companies to protect the farmer against the vagaries of weather.

To encourage ecologically sound development policies to preserve and develop the country’s natural and forest resources to counteract the impact of global warming it has plans to provide incentives for farmers to adopt social forestry on a commercial scale rather than depend on restrictive laws for this purpose particularly in border areas. It will also expand the programme to fight the cancer of water-logging and salinity.

A major programme of aquifer recharge in arid and semi-arid areas of Cholistan, Thar and Balochistan will ensure that water flow from tubewells installed in these areas can be sustained.

Immediate updating of the revenue and property records using Information Technology will be undertaken. Based on the information so generated ‘benamis’ can be done away with property rights of female members protected and access to credit by the poor assured.

Policy shift in agriculture from commodity-based agriculture to product-based agriculture will be ensured. As an example 22 products can be produced from corn. All agricultural research organisations will be completely revamped to ensure that the benefits of research actually reach the farmers. Agricultural education in general and curriculum of agriculture universities in particular will be modernised.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

The enormous size of WAPDA is a concern. But it is not the only one.

The current Pak Energy policy has focused on burning oil and making dams. Both which are expensive and the former being undesirable.

Pak needs to bring in people with engineering degrees to plot a course forward. The world is switching over to renewables and Pak is living in the stone age busy making nukes.

Whats the point in staying in the stone age? Just becase PTI said Naya Pakistan doesnt mean Nawaz cant change Pakistan.

 

[Pakistanisage]

The Problem with PMLN is they want bribes from each project which makes the projects very costly. Jab tak PMLN HARAMKHORI aur RISWATKHORI nahi chorayga, Pakistan Taraqi nahi kar sukta.

 

[Luftwaffe]

The Problem with PMLN is they want bribes from each project which makes the projects very costly. Jab tak PMLN HARAMKHORI aur RISWATKHORI nahi chorayga, Pakistan Taraqi nahi kar sukta.

Whom do they need bribary from when they are in power, the only thing they would be enjoying is IMF/WB/Islamic Bank huge loans wired transferred to saudi, dubai, london.

 

[Icewolf]

If nawaz sharif even reduces load shedding to 6 hrs it will be a accomplishment for him

 

[ejaz007]

India urged to offer 500MW electricity

LAHORE: Renowned scholar and co-founder of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Dr Mubashar Hassan has urged the government of India to unilaterally offer Pakistan 500MW electricity. Talking to Daily Times, Dr Mubashar said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s election manifesto pledged to improve relations with India. “The election result shows overwhelming support for Nawaz to run the next government,” Mubashar added. He said that Nawaz Sharif had thrice tried to improve relations with India, but every time he was disappointed because the response of the Indian government was cold. He said that history once again offers an opportunity to the two countries to forget the past and take bold steps in the interest of the people of the subcontinent. staff report

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Nawaz capable enough to resolve energy crisis

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) on Tuesday reposed full confidence in the leadership of PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif saying that his capabilities will steer the country out of the current mess. The country was in need of serious and talented leadership since long that could resolve energy crisis, which in turn would trigger economic revival, said APCNGA Supreme Council Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha. In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said that masses and business community hope that Nawaz will resolve energy crisis sooner than expected by taking all stakeholders on board to be remembered as golden era in the history of Pakistan. Paracha said that 50 million CNG consumers and 3.0 million motorists in Punjab have settled score with the corrupt cabal in the recent elections that inflicted untold miseries upon them for personal benefits. Masses will never forget those who inflicted pain on them through artificial gas crisis and individuals who made them wait for hours to get economical fuel, he added. Paracha said that business community across the stretch of country has wholeheartedly welcomed landslide victory of Nawaz while stock exchange has welcomed him in a very unprecedented way, which has raised hopes among masses. He said that APCNGA repeatedly forwarded implementable recommendations to top officials of the former government but it fell on deaf years of corrupt advisers and politicians unconcerned with the plight of masses. The political fate of former coalition was sealed by a band of politicians who took their rule as an opportunity to make maximum out of it on the cost of country, economy and masses. Discredited former rulers are now part of the history who will never win confidence of masses and business community, said Paracha. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\05\15\story_15-5-2013_pg5_2

 

[Leader]

If nawaz sharif even reduces load shedding to 6 hrs it will be a accomplishment for him

that will happen in 2-3 months

 

[valkyr_96]

what would offset any progress made in the production of electricity is the increasing population and the declining purchasing power both of which would result in more 'kundas' i doubt if the textiles owners would want to return after setting shops in Bangladesh but if they do this would only add to the problem more demand and subsides

 

[niaz]

If nawaz sharif even reduces load shedding to 6 hrs it will be a accomplishment for him

There is enough surplus power generation capacity to bring the load shedding down to this level. However for this you must clear circular debt to enable PSO to purchase sufficient quantities of furnace oil

 

[Contrarian]

I believe that the transmission lines being setup between India and Pakistan will finish by 2014, after that Pakistan can buy power from India.

That should immediately give Nawaz a political breather.

 

[Jango]

There are 2 things here, removal of circular debt to purchase oil, this will be done by getting economy back on track.

Second thing is to get power generation facilities on coal.

Yesterday Shahbaz Sharif said that they plan to make 2000MW electricity from biogas in the near future.

 

[haviZsultan]

I opened the tv yesterday only to find out that Shahbaz Sharif was on it claiming he will resolve the electricity crisis. He sounded genuinely concerned about the country. I don't support the Sharifs but Shahbaz appears very enthusiastic in his speeches.

 

[Contrarian]

Shahbaz seems to be a very good Chief Minister.
Highly Development oriented.

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan's first CDM project kindles hopes for hydropower


Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Wed, 15 May 2013 11:00 AM

Author: Roshan Din Shad



Pakistan's first CDM project, the New Bong Escape hydropower project, opened in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Mirpur district in March 2013.

Pakistan has completed its first project under the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) with a hydropower scheme that the government hopes will help tackle the country’s electricity deficit while acting as a trailblazer to attract foreign investment.

The 84-megawatt New Bong Escape project has been built in Mirpur district in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (known as Azad Jammu Kashmir or AJK), 100 km (63 miles) south of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

The project uses “run of river” construction, with a semi-submerged powerhouse containing four sets of turbines and generators rather than a dam. It is located about 8 km (5 miles) downstream from the Mangla Dam, a major reservoir and itself a 1,000 MW hydropower generator, which was commissioned in 1967.

The new plant, co-funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, was the country’s first hydropower scheme to be registered with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a CDM project, in January 2009. The $217 million project was completed and began power generation in March.

According to Larib Energy Limited, the project developer, it will reduce Pakistan’s carbon dioxide emissions by 219,000 tonnes annually by supplanting fossil fuel-fired power plants.

LOCAL COMPLAINTS

But people who live near the plant complain that they have seen no economic benefit from its construction, and that the local environment is now in worse shape than previously.

“Locals were denied jobs during the construction and ... threatened by company officials for demanding jobs,” charged Tahir Choudhary, 42, a farmer who lives in Lahri Choudharian, a village close to the scheme.

Residents say that a river downstream from the Mangla reservoir used to flow past the corner of their village and carry away sewage, but it was diverted for the power project, leaving the riverbed dry.

“We have had to dig 20-30 feet (6-9 metres) to get water, but after diversion (of the river) our wells are dry owing to the fall in the water level,” said Zahoor Ahmed, who also lives in the village. Ahmed believes drilling for the construction of the hydropower plant led to the fall in the water table.

“We have no benefit from this project because we were provided with neither employment nor electricity from it,” said Raja Naeem, 50, who runs a small hotel near the plant.

Under an agreement between Larib Energy and the Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan (WAPDA), the electricity generated through the project is being supplied to the national grid.

“All the labourers were brought from neighbouring Punjab province of Pakistan for the building of the project, and locals were kept deprived of jobs,” said Muhammad Zubair, 25, who sells beverages on a narrow bridge in Bong which connects the project site with the rest of Mirpur.

Project officials say workers were brought from elsewhere because local people did not have the needed skills.

“We had to employ technical staff for the project who were not available locally, and we brought them from other areas,” Larib Energy chairman Haji Aziz said. He said the project had produced other benefits for local people, however.

According to Aziz, diverting the river will protect Lahri Choudharian village from flooding. And by deepening the river channel, the project has made 4,500 acres (1,800 hectares) of previously flood-prone, uncultivated land near the village viable for agriculture.

GROWING DEMAND FOR POWER

No one denies the need for greater electric capacity. Last month Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, witnessed violent protests against prolonged power cuts, with 45 police officers injured.

There were also protests last summer when the mercury touched 52 Centigrade (126 Fahrenheit) in some areas of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces, threatening lives and making life miserable for people in the face of power outages.

Pakistan’s federal power ministry says that demand for electricity in May last year was about 6,000 MW greater than the available supply of 10,800 MW, and a shortfall of over 6,000 MW has also been predicted for the peak summer months of May to August this year.

According to the Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan, two-thirds of the country’s electricity is produced from fossil fuels, and one-third from hydro. There are plans for eight hydroelectric projects totalling 3,600 MW on rivers in Kashmir. These are due to be completed by 2020, but first financing must be arranged.

“Pakistan’s economic condition is very poor due to the prevailing (security) situation, and it is very hard to bring in foreign investment,“ said Waqar Ahmed, chief executive officer of Star Hydro, a Korean company building a 150 MW hydro project in the country. He said that the great potential of hydropower often was not enough to outweigh investors’ concerns.

Fareed Ahmed, deputy director of planning at the territory’s hydroelectric board, said that more than 8,100 MW of potential hydropower had been identified and about 1,000 MW exploited so far, with 10 schemes underway to increase capacity by a further 1,200 MW over the next four years.

Choudhary Abdul Majeed, Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s prime minister, said that given dwindling reserves of fossil fuels, “the only alternate source of electricity production for industry and domestic use left in this region of ours is hydroelectric, in which AJK is the richest zone.”

WATER DISPUTES

But Pakistan is at loggerheads with India over Kashmir’s waters and recently went to the International Court of Arbitration to apply for primary rights to water from the Neelum River, which flows into AJK from Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistan is building one of its largest-ever energy projects (969 MW), to be finished by 2016, on the Neelum, and India is building a 350 MW project on the river as well.

Despite the appetite for large-scale schemes, some feel that thinking small can be of greater benefit to people who live near hydro schemes.

“Small hydropower projects are very beneficial for rural areas as they provide job opportunities, generate economic activities and above all provide electricity to nearby villages day and night,” said Faisal Shall, 35 who lives near a small hydropower plant in Chinari village, where he also teaches economics.

About a dozen such plants are in operation in AJK on streams in the Neelum, Leepa and Jhelum valleys. The 3.2 MW Kathai hydropower project, built in 1995, provides electricity to some 60 villages with a total population of 150,000 in Hattain Bala district.

Roshan Din Shad is a freelance journalist based in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

 

[Jango]

Power sector: According to the party’s manifesto, PML-N has plans that a Ministry of Energy will be created through the merger of ministries of Water and power and petroleum and natural resources.

And PML has defaulted on one promise even before assuming office!

Ch Nisar has asked for petroleum ministry while Khwaja Asif or Ahsan Iqbal are going to be given the power and water portfolio.