Making better use of our energy resources

Government of Pakistan needs to take action, country sits on huge untapped coal reserves and shale gas reserves.

Not only does Pakistan have a circular debt problem when it comes to its electricity crisis, it also has a circular energy-terrorism-politics problem. It is hard to say what is causing what but however the sequence goes, this dangerous nexus is crippling the nation. The country loses nearly four per cent of GDP, annually, due to the intermittent electricity that plagues it from manufacturing all the way down to the self-employed tailors. Such hits to the economy, coupled with rising social tensions, create the perfect breeding ground for terrorist activity. Desperation makes for an ideal recruitment tool.

Still, worse than the crisis of energy is the crisis of incompetent leadership. What does the Pakistani government have to say when the country’s most hardline reformer is a 14-year-old girl from Swat? The lack of political will to reform the energy sector is a great disservice to the Pakistani people and has led Pakistan on a downward spiral to failed statehood.

Instead of making sweeping statements about Pakistan’s potential, the Government of Pakistan needs to take action. Pakistan sits on huge untapped coal reserves and newly-discovered shale gas reserves. Coal capacity is roughly 185 billion tonnes and yet, the country only produces 0.6 per cent. Further, with vast amounts of sunlight and land, solar generation could change the game as well. Solar potential in Pakistan amounts to almost 100,000 MW. The majority of electricity generation, 67 per cent, is from imported oil and gas. Instead of importing expensive oil or letting its own coal and renewable energy go to waste, internal investment in these sectors is key. Although significant steps towards greater nuclear energy capacity have been taken in the last 10 years, with the partnership between China and Pakistan expanding to bring two additional nuclear plants online, more must be done by way of domestic fuel sources.

For starters, the Thar coal reserves in Sindh have an estimated 175 billion tonnes of coal deposits that could provide 500 years worth of constant power. The non-existence of coal in Pakistan’s energy mix is perhaps the largest wasted potential. High capital costs and ethnic tension remain the main obstacles to achieving any kind of success in the coal industry. Of course, burning coal isn’t the most ideal form of generation for many reasons, including extreme environmental and health concerns but this could be an effective way out of Pakistan’s current predicament, providing cheap power and jobs. Additionally, development of the sector could even lead to future coal exportation to countries, like India, which heavily rely on coal for power. As of November 2, Japan expressed interest in investing in Thar coal power projects and building transmission lines that connect to the national grid — an example of the kinds of opportunities Pakistan needs to be seeking out and capitalising on.

In addition to coal, Pakistan sits on significant shale gas reserves in the southeast. With the current global shale boom, why shouldn’t Pakistan have its own shale gas revolution? Given the location of the deposits, right on the coast, exporting to liquefied natural gas-hungry East Asia would be highly lucrative.

These roads to recovery must be paved with capital investments. Yet, from sectarian strife to Taliban insurgency, violence and instability in Pakistan are causing investors to cut and run. Already, foreign investment has dropped by 66 per cent since 2008. Attacks on Chinese workers on infrastructure projects by Pakistani militants prompted a re-evaluation of other Chinese-funded projects. These frustrating displays are sorely indicative of government detachment.

To the future leaders of Pakistan: break the cycle of corruption. Reinvest in our country. Clamp down on violence and terrorism. There is vast potential. There is no need for Pakistan to sit at the lowest rungs of international health and economic rankings. Focus on growth and tap into domestic resources, both energy and human. Exploiting domestic resources is just smart energy security. Pakistan need not be a global basket case. If the next administration needs inspiration of what proper governance and reform looks like, just look across the border to the Indian state of Gujarat — an electricity surplus of 2,000 MW and international praise for its hugely successful reformist policies. Let the elections in 2013 be a new era for Pakistan. Let the new government break the problematic cycle of circular energy-terrorism-politics.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2012.