Pakistan's Energy Crunch: American Chronicle

Saad Sarwar

Cheap and reliable sources of energy are the driving force for any economy. In the current climate of the world where the limited supply of fossil fuels and the high energy demands is already causing havoc to the world economy, it is about time we thought of alternate sources of energy as the only real option left.

A developing country like Pakistan can ill afford to ignore the importance of alternate sources of energy and the role hydel power can play for Pakistan if harnessed properly. Pakistan is naturally blessed with a terrain that boasts some of the highest mountain ranges in the world which also serve as the sources for all of its rivers. Pakistan possesses K2 which is the second highest point on the earth with the water going all the way to sea level through a course of hundreds of miles. Water coming from such high sources serves as huge repositories of potential energy which can be harnessed not only to produce cheap energy but also as water conservation projects for agriculture. Right now millions of cusecs of water is wasted in our rivers and thrown out straight to the sea without much use. It is high time Pakistan thought of constructing small dams and water reservoirs for electricity production and agricultural purposes all over the country. Even rain water should be conserved in special reservoirs purpose built for the monsoon season which can also serve to make deserts and vast areas of Baluchistan green. Pakistan should go all out for these energy projects so that none of the industrial units or houses and businesses in Pakistan are ever out of energy. Pakistan should set its energy target as double its actual needs in order to be the best growing economy in the world. Which it could easily be, if the cost of factors of production are lowered. Pakistani textile industry always complains of power outages and high costs of energy. If we use hydel power and alternate sources of energy we can even lower cost of utilities for all Pakistanis and give something back to our populace through better energy management thereby becoming a true welfare state.

Pakistan should also think about requiring all vehicles operating in Pakistan to run on electric power by the year 2010. Many countries have started initiatives of using electricity to power vehicles. In Nepal many companies have mushroomed that offer vehicles run on electricity using multiples of car batteries. Britain has submarines that are powered by batteries. Honda has introduced its very efficient Fuel Cell Vehicle that utilizes alternative fuel technologies. Pakistan should set itself a target of being oil free by the year 2020. If steps are taken right now for generating hydel-power along with alternate sources of energy, being oil free by 2020 is not too much to ask for.

Alternate sources of energy like wind and solar power have been exploited by many countries. China even offers a full range of wind turbines, from home turbines of various production capacities to industrial wind turbines. Pakistan can easily import and employ these on mass level to help the local populace develop energy for home use in their very own homes. Some can even sell excess capacity of electricity to the government like is done in the United States thereby lowering costs of production for the government. Most wind turbines only require sustained winds at low wind speeds which are suitable for many areas in Pakistan.

Pakistan is also blessed with plenty of sunshine which can be harnessed to produce solar energy. The first and foremost use of solar panels apart from home use in Pakistan could be the conversion of all the street lights with those powered by solar panels. Installing a solar panel with each street light would not only reduce the burden of the government to produce energy but would also result in saving costs associated with wiring of the street lights as lights with solar panels do not require an exorbitant amount of wiring due to the distance between the source(solar panel) and use(light) being small. Pakistan's main artery, motorway M-2 is already fitted with solar panels that power emergency phones every few kilometers.

With the way the oil prices are rising everyday the day is not far away when we would be driving solar cars on highways lighted by solar energy into homes powered by alternate sources of energy like wind and solar power. The sooner Pakistan recognizes the potential of wind,hydel and solar power along with electric powered vehicles, the sooner Pakistan would become a world class economy whose citizens would enjoy cheap power and the country would rid itself of high current account deficits associated with high oil imports costs and low exports due to high utility costs.

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