NEPRA, OGRA penalise consumers

Experts at 4th International Power Generation Conference say govt should take up Thar coal projects on a fast track.

KARACHI: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), instead of protecting consumer rights, have added to their woes, claimed Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Investment, Zubair Motiwala.

Speaking at the 4th International Power Generation Conference 2011 here on Tuesday, he said Nepra and Ogra are two white elephants that actually penalise loyal consumers who honestly pay their bills.

“Instead of correcting the faulty system, they actually create more problems,” he said, asking “how can these bodies allow an increase in power tariff to make up for electricity theft.”

“We need to include civil society representatives and retired judges to independently regulate the power sector and efficiently resolve our problems,” he said.

Motiwala, who is also an industrialist, said that power sector inefficiencies are responsible for expensive electricity production and without providing cheap energy, industrialisation cannot take place.

Registrar Nepra, Safeer Shah, said the percentage of thermal energy is increasing while hydropower share is decreasing in energy mix, which is not a good omen. Thermal energy is one of the most expensive sources while hydel energy is a cheap alternative.

Secretary Coal and Energy Development Department Sindh, Ajaz Ali Khan, said: “Despite being called dirty fuel, Thar coal is the future of Pakistan.” He elaborated that Thar coal and other coal resources should be developed because their advantages are much more for Pakistan.

He cited the example of coal-based power production in different countries. China produces 81 per cent of power through coal, Australia 71 per cent, India 68 per cent, USA 49 per cent and Pakistan only one per cent.

Both developing and developed countries are increasing their electricity production through coal but they discourage Pakistan at the same time saying it is a dirty fuel, he said.

He showed pictures of Indian mining sites of lignite on Pakistan border and said Pakistan has the same mines on its side of the border but it has been unable to exploit the resource.

Khan said that to produce coal, Engro with public-private partnership is using best available machinery to minimise environmental degradation.

He said that three Chinese companies have shown interest in Thar coal after the entry of Engro in the Thar coal business, which shows that the project is picking up pace.

He refuted reports that suggest Thar coal is of inferior quality.

“Germany and Greece are producing thousands of megawatts through coal, which is far inferior than what we have in Thar and Sindh,” he said.

President Petroleum Marketing Business Byco Petroleum, Kaleem A Siddiqui, said that Pakistan has been wasting its natural gas by using it in power production plants having 20 per cent efficiency.

“This is not the case anywhere in the world. Countries use natural gas in plants with efficiency of over 80 per cent,” he added.

Experts at the conference said that the government should take up Thar coal projects on a fast track as this can help the country in future because oil prices are expected to touch $200 per barrel in the next two decades.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2011.