It is the unreasonable cost of power that makes our industries incomparable and too high a burden on the people
ISLAMABAD: This is with regards to a news item in your newspaper on December 17, “NEPRA cuts solar power tariff, investors unhappy”. Because of climate change, the world is moving away from fossil fuels, coal and oil. Blessed with 100,000 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric potential and, most importantly, with over 53.61 million acre feet (maf) of water storage from identified projects, we should be giving highest priority to the Diamer to Bhasha dams, with 4,500MW of power, 19.1 billion units of yearly generation and 8.1 maf of storage. For those involved with power projects in Wapda, PPIB and SHYDO, it is essential that these and other energy projects be given serious consideration to keep project costs within the range of similar projects in other countries.
Foreign project sponsors should not be taken seriously. Also, on December 17, in The New York Times, Thomas Friedman in his article, “Paris Climate Accord is a Big, Big Deal” quotes the CEO of a policy research group, Energy Innovation, Hal Harvey, who states: “In the last six years, solar prices have dropped by more than 80 per cent and now cost less than a new coal plant. Wind is down 60 per cent.” The article also quoted Jose Entrecanales, Chairman of the Spanish renewable energy giant Acciona, informing that “recent deals from Morocco to South Africa to Chile were struck for around 2.8 cents a kilowatt hour of wind and 4.2 cents a kilowatt hour for solar”.
So, why, then, is Nepra being pushed to accept up to 11.5 cents kWh for solar power projects? It is the unreasonable cost of power that makes our industries incomparable and too high a burden on the people. Unless foreign investors bring their costs to internationally acceptable levels, we do not need them.
Imtiaz Ali Qazilbash
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2015.
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