 |
| |
WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
 |
|
 |
| Experts call for imported coal-based power projects |
|
|
|
Sunday, September 07, 2008
By Mansoor Ahmad
LAHORE: Power sector experts have urged the government to immediately stop approving oil fired thermal power projects and approve imported coal based power generation projects that would produce electricity at half the rate.
They pointed out that electricity from the furnace oil based power plants would cost Rs20 a unit and would be a constant source of pressure on foreign exchange reserves. They said coal-fired electricity generation should be encouraged as it would consume 50 per cent less foreign exchange than furnace oil if the coal has to be imported at all.
They said Pakistan is sitting on the second largest reserves of coal in the world, and the mining potential of coal in Sindh has not been exploited due to the skewed approach of the government. They further said that the government should deal with the coal mining issue separately from power generation. The first priority they added should be to exploit the coal reserves available in Sindh. The electricity generation, they added would ensue once the coal mining starts.
The experts said the country should approach countries with experience in coal mining and electricity production from coal. They noted that Bosnia, Poland, Russia, China and the United States are major players in producing electricity from coal. In fact, they added that Poland produces 90 per cent of its electricity from coal. The experts said that the government should divide the Thar coal reserves in to 15 blocks and issue concessions to interested parties from these countries. They said the coal mined should be allowed to be used or exported on global rates so that the miners are not restricted to wait for local consumption.
The news found out that the main reason that is impeding the progress on the Thar Coal reservoir is the insistence of the federal government that the Sindh government has to get its approval for granting any mining concession in the region. There are vested interests sitting in the federal government that want their share of the cake while granting concessions.
Experts feel that the federal government should not meddle in the way the Sindh government wants to exploit its coal reserves. They said time is fast running out for Pakistan. Thar they added is a coal mine that could save Pakistan from the high cost of oil.
They fear that if the countries continued to award contracts for oil run thermal stations, it would ruin the economy. They said the oil bill would soar and the government would not be in a position to increase the electricity rates in accordance with the increase in cost of new thermal projects. They warned that the country would then regularly face the situation as was witnessed this year, when the thermal stations were operated below capacity to prevent high oil prices. They said load shedding would then become a routine. It does not appear, they added, that Pakistan will overcome its foreign exchange problems in the foreseeable future and boot the bill for added furnace oil imports. They said coal fired power generation plants could be established in the same time period that is taken by furnace oil run projects. They said if the thermal stations could be run on furnace oil then they could also be run on imported coal that would reduce the electricity cost by 50 per cent.
|
|
|
| Back
| Send
this story to Friend | Print
Version |
|
|
|
ISSN 1563-9479 
