Tawanai

Sometimes its good to see a futuristic product. Here’s a rooftop wind turbine . The seven-foot-wide plastic turbine has a ring around its rotors that diffuses noise and limits vibration; the company claims that the turbine is no louder than a whisper. In windy locations, its power output should be about 2,000 kilowatt-hours a year. Cost: $10,000 with installation. Let’s wait for the Chinese to copy this and then we will see the price come down!

Credit: TechnologyReview.com

Energy, Wind

Wired magazine has a good article on the 10 top green technology breakthroughs and stories in 2008. The list is below with my pick from the list shown in bold below:

10. THE ISLAND OF THE SOLAR
09. NEW MATERIALS CAGE CARBON
08. GREEN TECH LEGISLATION GETS REAL
07. THE CATALYST THAT COULD ENABLE SOLAR
06. PICKENS PLAN PUSHES POWER PLAYS INTO AMERICAN MAINSTREAM
05. SOLAR THERMAL PLANTS RETURN TO THE DESERTS
04. OBAMA PICKS A GREEN TECH EXPERT TO HEAD DOE
03. SOLAR CELL PRODUCTION GETS BIG, GIGA(WATT)BIG
02. PROJECT BETTER PLACE FINDS HOMES
01. CALERA’S GREEN CEMENT DEMO PLANT OPENS

Energy, Green top

In the old days (a few years ago) the power outages used to be in Summer. The term Load shedding was coined. Now we have Load Killing going on. The power outages come in all seasons now. Small Pakistani towns are undergoing outages of 15-18 hours to enable electricity supplies to larger cities, with the power utility saying the de-silting of canals has resulted in hydel production dropping by a whopping 6,100 MW against the installed capacity of 6,500 MW.

PEPCO has reduced the quota of distribution companies (DISCOS), including Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).

Daily Times Reports:

PEPCO was accommodating Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), as these were the major DISCOS. The increased quota to the three companies allows them to enforce outages of only 8-10 hours.

The Indus River System Authority has reduced water flow from Mangla and Tarbela reservoirs prior to the announced schedule, in which it said that canals would be closed from Jan 1, 2009. The de-silting drive has affected hydel power generation in the country, which has plummeted sharply from the maximum capacity of 6,500 megawatts, Daily Times noted.

It quoted sources as saying hydel power generation was contributing only 400 MW, while 6,500 MW was being produced through thermal power plants owned by PEPCO and independent power producers against an electricity demand of 11,500 MW.

Electricity lesco, load shedding

In case we needed more evidence that the energy situation in Pakistan is a total mess, there is critical shortage of petrol and fuel in Pakistan. There were long lines at the petrol stations and people had to waste a lot of time and effort to get any feul. The previous shortage happened in the summer when prices were going up. The shortage has led to black marketing and petrol was being sold at prices of up to Rs 75-80 per litre. The prices of liquefied petroleum gas also remained above Rs 80 per kg in most areas of Lahore.

Why did this happen now that the oil prices are going down and who is responsbile?

Petroleum dealers said that the shortage of petrol and diesel is due to non-supply from oil marketing companies (OMCs). Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Central President Abdul Sami Khan said the oil marketing companies have demanded the government increase their commissions and therefore are not ready to give stocks of petrol in the country until their demand is met. He said the government should take immediate action to provide relief to the citizens. An oil company official said the petroleum prices are likely to fall in the coming days, adding that petrol companies are not ready to lift the fresh stocks.

What is the government doing to fix this?

Consumers, Oil, Petrol

Consumers and business have suffered plenty because of the electricity shortage. The sad part is that in addition to the wastage, corruption and theft, there are many fights going on between various government departments.

First one is between Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) and Indus River System Authority (Irsa) and is about the reduction of water releases from Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs ahead of time against the agreement between all stakeholders. There seems to be a total breakdown of communication between these agencies. However Pepco hopes that other measures will help mitigate the situation after mid January.

The second one is between Pakistan Power Resources (PPR) and Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) and it is over the Multan rental power plant, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. Further details are available at Business Recorder.

Consumers, Electricity, Energy

Government is trying to discourage the use of gas and it has come up with a great scheme: increase the price of gas and place the burden on consumers!

The government is likely to pass on 10 percent raise in gas price to compressed natural gas (CNG) consumers from January 1, 2009. This was decided in a meeting chaired by Advisor to Prime Minister on Natural Resources Dr Asim.

Details from Business Recorder.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has already allowed the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company to charge 7.83 percent increase in gas tariff rates effective from January 1, 2009. Gas utilities had demanded over 41 percent gas tariff hike from new calendar year.

It was proposed that 5.05 percent hike in gas prices should be passed onto the fertiliser sector. The meeting discussed a proposal to raise the price for independent power producers (IPPs) by 36 percent, which would equate the price for IPPs and the thermal power plants of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

It was also proposed to raise gas price by 7.5 to 7.64 percent for all types of consumers. The proposal to raise price by 3.85 percent for all types of the consumers was rejected. The meeting also noted that 5 percent gas increase should be passed on to the consumers of the first three slabs that are currently exempted from gas increase. During the first half year of the current financial year government had notified 31 percent gas price hike but exempted consumers of the first three slabs.

The consumers consuming up to 50 cubic metres fall under the category of first slab, 50-100 second slab and 100-200 cubic metres third category. The government had earlier exempted these consumers from hike in gas prices but now it is proposing that 5 percent hike in gas prices should be passed on to these consumers. It is also being proposed to raise prices by 7 percent for domestic consumers of higher slabs. The higher slabs are 400-500 above 500 cubic metres per month.

Consumers, Economics, Gas

A good essay published at The News by Ali Hammad, a Pakistani student in Netherlands. Excerpts below.

Pakistan’s energy policy is neither an item of discussion in the media nor general public. The subject of energy is dealt by ministry for petroleum and the ministry for water and power (W&P) development. The ministry is more focused on issues currently at hand rather than highlighting plans for the future. Electrical aspect is only one part of the energy policy but due to the obvious supply shortage it has overshadowed other more important issues like our dependence on foreign fuel which could have caused a total meltdown of Pakistani economy if the fuel prices had continued rising.

Undoubtedly the Pakistani power crisis is a nightmare. However, it can also be taken as an opportunity to adapt ‘Decentralized Power Systems’(DPS), a system through which every single house could become a little power station by connecting to national grid and providing electricity. Obviously this means that the provider will be paid. This would eliminate Pakistan’s power problems. Developed nations are speedily moving towards creating a strong decentralized power network whereby the old system of huge power plants acting as the sole providers of electricity to normal households will become obsolete. The west has weighed its pros against cons and almost all European countries as well as America/Canada have implemented policies supporting this mechanism in their national grids.

With a successful decentralized power supply mechanism in place, the power industry in Pakistan can flourish. The power supply shortages make it easier for Pakistan to implement the DPS policy as compared to countries which are currently self-sufficient in the production of electricity or are producing more than their requirement. Our country currently contains the right ingredients to start a semi mechanical /electrical revolution but it lacks proper policies (not funds) paving the way for such an endeavour.

A proper implementation of the ‘DPS policy’ would lead to new entrepreneurships, jobs and technological achievements, I as a Pakistani would prefer this over several billions of dollars in foreign investment! From a strategic point of view it is a win-win situation. All it would take is the right Government policy at the national grid level and an awareness campaign meant to educate people about the energy sector.

Pakistan should benefit from the research carried out in developed nations and swiftly come at par with the level of research for technologies which we can harness. DPS is one of the latter. Universities, companies, engineers, scientists and even politicians of Europe are chanting “Decentralized is the future”, we as Pakistanis should embrace this as an opportunity before it is too late.

Energy

The price of crude oil in the world has fallen to $36 per barrel, down from $140s. However the price of petroleum in Pakistan remains artifically high because of Pakistan government’s artifical and high taxes and profit margins. This is unfair to the consumers as they are already facing inflation and higher food prices.

The government reduced petrol prices by Rs 29 per litre (from July to December) reflecting a 33.5 percent decrease. The price of petrol in the domestic market was Rs 86.66 per litre in July and Rs 57.66 per litre on December 15. Despite this drop, the Pakistani government is still earning Rs 30.24 per litre Petroleum Development Levy, and Rs 7.95 per litre GST from the consumers.

The price of light diesel oil (LDO) was reduced from Rs 56.50 per litre to Rs 48 per litre reflecting a decline of Rs 8.5 per litre or 15 percent. The government continues to charge Rs 12.40 per litre PDL and Rs 6.62 per litre GST on LDO. The Government slashed HOBC price by 25 percent – charging Rs 96.08 per litre in July and Rs 72.08 per litre on December 15. The PDL on HOBC is Rs 39.85 per litre, and Rs 9.94 per litre GST.

Energy

A seminar on energy conservation was organised by the Department of Public Relations and Publication and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco). Asian Development Bank granted Rs 2 billion to Fesco to revamp its infrastructure in lines with the emerging global trends.

The participants of the seminar mentioned that micro economic policies of post-2005 resulted in import of non-productive electric appliances, which created imbalance between demand and supply mechanism of electricity. Conscious efforts need to be practised at offices, residences, factories and schools in order to save each and every unit for sustainable growth of industries, they said.

Report from Business Recorder.

Dr Iqrar said that though the government had initiated various projects of power production but, on the other hand, people need to conserve energy as much they can by switching off the unnecessary electronic appliances and launching massive awareness campaign.

Th Fesco Chief Executive said that his office was striving to streamline the load management mechanism by fixing timetable of load shading for the respective areas so as to enable its clients for their time management. He said that power generation would shortly be started from 41 points of 200 MW which were indicated for power generation in the province.

He said that his office has been granted Rs 2 billion from ADB in a bid to revamp its infrastructural mechanism. He stressed need for harnessing all sources of energy generation, particularly by using coal resources for the purpose. Ahmad Saeed said that his office has initiated the establishment of Energy Audit Cell at every factory to recommend to the respective owners workable measures for energy conservation.

FCCI president suggested to convert the furnace oil power generation system to gas and coal, as 50 percent of world oil resources have been exhausted and oil is no more a choice for energy generation. He said that energy demand was rising day by day against its availability as in 2010 supply is predicated as stagnant at 15055 MW against the supply of 20584 MW. Pointing out the Thar Coal Reservoirs, Hamid said that production of electricity by coal is needed as the country has 185 billion tons coal in Thar, which needs to be exploited.

Waheed Khaliq Ramy termed the seminar in time and said that power looms had to suffer badly due to current spell of load shedding as income of 0.5 million workers of power looms had reduced by 30 percent, which caused frustration. He underlined the need to make every possible effort for energy conservation, right from homes to schools and industries, by involving schoolgoing children, females in particular.

Muzaffar urged the participants to use maximum daylight in the rooms, making proper illumination, as over-illumination has negative impact on human health, using the spotlights at reading and working tables, installation of energy savers instead of bulb and tube lights.

He asked for true alignment and fixation of electric motors, keeping the thermostat always low and to turn off the computers soon after completion of assignments. He pointed out that energy can be conserved by designing the zero light building, by using light tunnels, green environment of 3 to 6 degrees, and by using light colours in rooms.

Conservation, Energy

Citing technical reasons, oil refineries in Pakistan have refused to take up the refining task of ethanol-blended motor gasoline. The refineries have asked the government that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) should work on the subject of ethanol-blended motor gasoline refining.

The government is working on different options of alternative resources for fuel to reduce the dependence on the import of petroleum products that were putting burden on the foreign exchange reserves. The country’s import bill was over 11 billion dollars during the last financial year, which could exceed 14 billion dollars during the current financial year. The higher import of petroleum products is the major reason to deplete the foreign exchange reserves.

According to sources, oil refineries have also refused to take up the refining task as they claim loss of about 44 million dollars per year on the export of additional surplus of 135,000 tonnes naptha due to blending of ethanol in gasoline.

More from Business Recorder:

Sources said that the committee working on the ethanol-blended motor gasoline had proposed to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to determine the prices of ethanol-blended motor gasoline.

Read more…

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