Pakistan has sought 500MW of electricity from India. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan, which already purchases electricity from Iran, has sought to purchase power to alleviate some of the acute energy crisis it is currently facing and has sought the supply of 500 Mega Watts of power from its Eastern neighbour.
As part of this, a delegation from the Indian Power Ministry, led by Joint Secretary Rita Acharya visited Pakistan earlier this week. They discussed the broad contours of the proposed arrangement and explored points which can be used to hook-up to the grid in Pakistan through a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line. However, details and modalities of the purchase and the techno-commercial as well as sovereign arrangements still need to be worked out.
Sources said the transmission line may not take very long to build and power could start flowing in matter of months, even though India will have to build a transmission network at its end and transmission lines for power transmission may need to be developed. A formal timeline was not offered.
However, they said that the main obstacle remained building a political will around the move.
India has an installed capacity of over 2,11,000 MW plans to add another 88,000 MW electricity by March, 2017.
COMMENTS (98)
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@Ghori: Beggars, first stop begging for money to eat from rest of the world. About kashmir, Indian flag will fly over the WHOLE kashmir by 2015 end because no more pakistan by 2015 as per CIA reports. (CIA your funding nations' intelligence agency.
Till each and every village of India has ample electricity, the govt. of India does not have any right to sell electricity to any outsider.
@Aschraful Makhlooq: we have learnt this type of barbarianism from aurangzeb
think of us Indians every time you turn on a light bulb or sit in an air conditioned room because its Hindu Electricity from Bharat that's flowing through the wires.
think of us Indians every time you turn on a light bulb or sit in an air conditioned room because its Hindu Electricity from Bharat... lol
I think Pakistan should not buy power from them they are not reliable and trustworthy.
@John the Baptist:
Reminds me of a childhood story. An beggar was asked to describe a diamond encrusted golden crown. He thinks for a few minutes and says, "why it should look exactly like my begging bowl. No thing in the world can possibly be more glorious than my begging bowl!"
Point is, you are not very familiar with electricity are you?
some people who are saying India itself have problem of electricity are wrong DELHI,MUMBAI,HYDERABAD,CHENNAI,BANGLORE,KOLKATA are some of the example where power never cut for a minute but in Pakistan there major city like Karachi and Lahore power cuts for several hours.
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui:
to ur question yes india do experience loadshedding and its mostly in rural areas, in urban areas powercuts perday will be around 15to 30min or 2hours max....but in rural areas farmers are free to use power with out paying a single penny...
@truthbetold: "It is so amazing and hard to believe how much brainwashed and ill-informed even educated Pakistanis are!" ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ the term educated Pakistanis is an oxymoron. For proof read their comments here:)
"@Ghori: “Mian sahib is forgetting that Pakistan has a lot of clout" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lot of clout with lot of load shedding.!
@Sonya: "Unclean, infidel, enemy no 1′s electricity – no way….. we better be in darkness." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Madam, your desires are already fulfilled......you are in the darkest darkness and I see no hope for you.
@Adam Khan: "We should make our own dames." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sir do you have a fool proof formula for making dames? Pls share.
"@truthbetold:China oppresses East Turkinstan Uighur muslims and has killed thousands of them (sinless and innocent) for demanding their freedom. How can you advocate buying anything from the Chinese when you are speaking in support of Kashmir muslims? Double standards and hypocrisy at play here?" Lie has no feet and you are just trying unsuccessfully to defame China by camouflaging Indian army's brutalities,cruelties and barbarism in Indian Occupied Kashmir.....
@Asma@London: " what is your version about good relations as far as stoppage of water by India is concerned"
It is so amazing and hard to believe how much brainwashed and ill-informed even educated Pakistanis are!
Can you point to one singe incident in the last 66 years that India had cut off water to Pakistan?
You have a choice; cannibalize your nukes to make power or save the grass you wanted to eat to make thermal electricity.
@Sidra Usman: How naive can one be and all those who recommended!! If good relations depend upon taking electricity from India, what is your version about good relations as far as stoppage of water by India is concerned?? Face the reality that one day India will do the same with electricity coming from there!!
Electricity from India is a way of sidelining the deal with Iran made by the previous government! Try to read between the lines and try to understand why?
Dear All, i hope this is mere hoax because indian western sector does not have surplus power because states like punjab which are near lahore (where GOP supposedly plans to import electricity) is reeling under huge power shortage of more than 19%. Even if india goes on to give power to pakistanis, it would be axing one's own feet coz we don't have surplus electricity in that sector. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/337770/17-states-face-power-shortage.html
The above site very clearly states that western sector apart from gujrat is power deficit.
And to my dear pakistani friends, don't blush on india's 2 lac plus installed capacity, many of the power projects here are old and run on less than 50% of their installed capacity. Secondly the transmission losses in india are one of the highest in india by world standards and end up wasting up to 50% of transmitted power in some cases. Yes we have made some strides but still we have to go a long long way. Yes we do have indigenous technology on almost all types of power generation be it solar, wind, thermal or hydro for that matter, But are we still far from energy sufficiency. We have lot of technical expertise to offer but electricity ?? i guess not.
And yes i say it as the son of a senior executive of state electicity board and i have had these experiences first hand for last many many years.
@Ghori yes pakistanis have great talent... If ur comment is any indication i can predict talent of pakistanis...just one question... How many attempts did you take to pass 10th or still not able to clear...oh sorry may be you learnt in madrasa that teach with such passion that you actually believed every fantasy they taught you...
@John the Baptist: Didn't know electricity can smell like food. I guess one has to be inbred (think cousin marriages) to comprehend such retarded ideas.
@Sonya:
I didn't know certain electricity was more righteous than other electricity. Actually, one would have to argue that all electricity is a gift and creation of God no matter the nation state responsible for its generation.
@Adam Khan:
:) How would more dames (meaning ladies) help produce more electricity :)
@gp65:
Thanks for your "goodwill" but your electricity smells like madras masala. Let's test your knowledge on another matter: Is the US social security still solvent?
Hey guys cool down. I suggest a simple solution for all those who are against Pakistan buying electricity from India. If, repeat IF, this deal comes through and electricity starts flowing from India into Pakistan, all of you guys should get power supply to your homes and work places disconnected. This will provide much need power to those who require it.
@Aschraful Makhlooq:
If PML-N’s government imports expensive electricity from India than cheaper electricity from China and Iran then this shall be the PML-N’s greatest ever effrontery and meanness and betrayal and treason with the innocent and sinless Kashmiri muslims’ martyrdom whereas China and Iran are fully prepared to help Pakistan to resolve energy crises"
China oppresses East Turkinstan Uighur muslims and has killed thousands of them (sinless and innocent) for demanding their freedom. How can you advocate buying anything from the Chinese when you are speaking in support of Kashmir muslims? Double standards and hypocrisy at play here?
If PML-N's government imports expensive electricity from India than cheaper electricity from China and Iran then this shall be the PML-N's greatest ever effrontery and meanness and betrayal and treason with the innocent and sinless Kashmiri muslims' martyrdom whereas China and Iran are fully prepared to help Pakistan to resolve energy crises
@gp65:
"The debt is not circular here. The debt is pretty much linear. ”
Pakistani media, politicians and officials are fond of the term "circular debt" when very seldom debt is ever circular. At the end of the line there is alway a debtor who needs to pay the creditor. Unless, of course, in the lexicon of Pakistani officials, circular debt means the creditor will end up going in endless and perpetual circles trying to collect what is owed to him.
@Adam Khan:
first stop stealing our wind to Punjab, Rajastan, jammu-kashmir, then we will consider water.
Indians think they are doing a favor Pakistani's their izzat will be lost , can we not ever think on logical business lines , you need electricity we have it pay for it and take it ,is that so difficult .
Pakistan and India need to get back to business! Both nations have what the other needs and its the 21st century now!
as if it will go ahead!India just wanted to earn some bucks!we do not really have a load shedding problem because of less power, its just some mismanagement! cutting the debt and shifting on coal in the next two years would do away with this shortage! as far as the gesture of giving electricity is concerned, i think it should be looked into as a nice gesture on India's part!
what you Indians and Pakistanis need to realize is that you cant change your neighbor! we have to live together and as our economies grow, mutual trade has to be the way forward! Pakistan today is exporting the maximum stuff to america and the EU! which is absolutely absurd! its high time we start selling our towels to India than to the rest of the world!
@Pakistani Awam: You are very good at corruption, terrorism, conspiracy theories, target killings, and chaos; useless at everything practical, worthwhile and useful.
@gp65:
Be that as it may, if India has offered this, it is just a goodwill gesture.
Please stop the theatre of the absurd now–there is never any goodwill gesture from india! Recommend
@Adam Khan:
So, someone else is making your dames right now?!
@Nilesh: "But one thing about electricity generation is, you lose electricity in longer distances and you can’t really store it for long.. so it’s going to be lost, so better to give/sell it to a nearby neighbor then waste it. It solves their problem and generate revenue and create positive relations with our neighbors. Hope this makes sense." Perfect sense. You have got to be an electrical engineer. Storing electricity? How do we do that? Like milk, it probably rots. We can't even make cheese out of it. Why not give it away free?
@ all pakistani friends.... just to clarify u all who is saying "provide electricity to your people first" ...here is the explanation ,,in india many states are power surplus like wb where i live,,and many are power deficit ,,so through a central grid power is sold from surplus state to deficit state,,but due to long transmission lines more power will be lost in operations...so to prevent that if a state in north india which is a power surplus state it makes sense to them to sell power to neighbouring areas including pakistan rather than in some deficit state in south,just to save the transmission losses.. now it is upto pakistan to look into its economics whether they want to import it or not,by the way 500mw is not a big deal in india as because in india even a single steel plant like tata steel or sponge iron plants generate that much through waste gases for captive use......
@Nilesh: brother you live in modi's gujarat here even villages dont have load sheding
Be that as it may, if India has offered this, it is just a goodwill gesture.
Please stop the theatre of the absurd now--there is never any goodwill gesture from india!
@Ghori: Man, What an inflated ego.Loads of nuclear pile up but no technology to make nuclear electricity. Does not it tell you that you guys are better in "stealing" technology rather than making one? And only thing you could come up with was being "good looking" and "better" english speaking skills and still no man booker prize while Indians have bagged 4 of them. Your leaders have put you on path where you are bound to eat grass for 1000 years. Let me tell you, its not even started yet.There is long ordeal.As for being mercy on "Hindus" well that you already are. All your water flows from "Hindu" land which can be stopped if needed. So yes, you are at mercy of Hindus. Make most of it while it is there.
@damdampani: As if india is in desperate condition to sell electricity to pakistan lol...are u living in moon!!
@damdampani: "No light before kashmir ,if india is willing to give kashmir we can THINK about purchasing from them "
Amazing arrogance. Please do not buy from India.
@HopeNChange: "Pipe dream ???? Why can’t India provide electricity to her own masses first ?
"306.2m Indians, 15m Pakistanis live without electricity: WB"
World Bank simply gets its numbers based on what the contries provide it. India's numbers are accurate since they are derived from 2011 census. Pakistan's numbers are suspect since no census has been conducted since 1998. It WAS supposed to be conducted in 2011 but clearly has not happened. When Pakistan doess not even know what its population is, how can it know how many people do not have electricity?
In any case if Punjab grid (in India) is surplus and its neighbouring states are not energy deficient, it might be easier for India to supply to Pakistan than other parts of India. Plus the 300 million people who do not have electricity are in sparsely populated villages that are not on the grid where the attempt is to work on off grid energy like solar or biomass energy to those people.
Be that as it may, if India has offered this, it is just a goodwill gesture. It cannot force Pakistan to take it or pay for electricity it hasn ot taken. So it is unclear what you think is the conspiracy here.
@damdampani: I don't think India can let Kashmir be in dark too along with Pakistan by handing it over to Pakistan. In fact Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad should think about joining Indian republic in order to get rid of load shedding.
India are building dams on our river and Depriving us of our water and they want to now SELL us our own right. Hilarious!! Biggest joke of century
@Water Bottle: I agree with you... In order for a circular debt to exist, there must be a closed loop between all parties, and the net balance of all debts between parties involved is zero. Which i think is not the case... Think it should be called "linear debt chain"/ "linear chain of receivables", instead of circular debt.
@Ghori - U can do better..
@All - those who feel India should first provide electricity for its own who suffer from its deficit, Electricity Generation is a state-owned portfolio in India i.e responsibility of the province/state legislative assembly. There are states whose rural population suffer from elec deficit, but states which have a surplus (as in the case of Gujrat & a few more) trade it with other States which have electricity deficiency. Most of the Indian states have improved, electricity generation per say, and experience load shedding only during the 'high-load-demand' summers.
No light before kashmir ,if india is willing to give kashmir we can THINK about purchasing from them .
@Adam Khan: Yes please make some 'dames ! Stole water?? LOL! It went in India's favor at the International level... lest you dont want to adhere to that ruling.. but its ok.. I can understand; Pakistan is from a different planet all together!!! Right???
@TightPatloon: India is offering the 500 MW out of thousands it generates in its Northern Parts. This electricity is something which can not be stored and will be part of transmission loss if diverted elsewhere within India.Any way i m not sure with so much debt piling up for Pakistan, can they even afford to buy this electricity. So question is not whether Pakistan should buy it or not, question is whether India should sell it or not when there is no guarantee of payment.
Well India should only sell electricity if Pakistan can pay for it which I doubt. India tried to lease rail engines to Pakistan in past but had to back track as there was no guarantee of payment. India needs to remember that it is not Saudi Arabia or US who can afford to give alms to Pakistan. Even China does not do that. Any way looking the comments from many Pakistanis here, they are determined to "eat grass for 1000 years". May god give them strength for that.
NO electricity should be given to ungrateful Pakistanis. They should remain in the 7th century
One can't figure out why is Pakistan interested in purchasing a measly 500MW electricity from India ? It should rather go in for technical assistance from India and produce its own electricity as Pakistan has large coal reserves which should last a life time. India has high technical expertise in both thermal and hydro-power fields which should really be sought by Pakistan to increase its energy output.
Mian sahib is forgetting that Pakistan has a lot of clout--it is the only Islamic nuclear state, its people have the best talent in the world, speak better English than Indians, and are fair and good-looking. Buying electricity from India is a surrender in the face of typical Hindu cunning; it also puts us at their mercy. What's next, giving Most Favoured Nation status to India? Ridiculous.
If at all we are going to do business with India, we should tell them to first solve the core issue of Kashmir. We can use our clout with the Americans to get a nuclear deal in exchange for safe escape route for their troops from Afghanistan, and that will teach Indians (whose typical attitudes we see in the comment pages of ET) some humility. When that day comes, and not before, we should consider agreeing to trade with India.
If there is no scam involved Pakistan can buy electricity from India I don't see any problem.
@Circular Debt
...Is a very misleading term coined in Pakistan, like most terms coined in Pakistan (burger mommy! anyone?!!!).
When a debt is circular, it is not a debt at all.
The debt is not circular here. The debt is pretty much linear. It opens at one place (Pakistani public) and ends at some other place (Iranian company supplying oil).
Guys, grow up - assuming the economics works for both the parties. I think its good for pakis and indians alike. Neither of us are going way, lets learn to live together.
@Adam Khan: Your watrer?. It is India's water that it gives to pakistan free. India should scrap the Indus water treaty between it and Pakistan. India and China don't have a treaty and China does what it wants with the water that comes down to India. India should scrap the treaty and do just like China and tell pakistan to suck on egg.!!
I live in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India. I have never experienced any power shortages (or load shedding) in residential areas. There is load shadding for 8 hours a week in Industrial estates, but never in houses. The only time I see power cut is when there is some technical issues in AEC and that too they fix it in an hour or two!!
About people saying why can't we provide electricity to entire country first.. we are in a process. the new capacity of 80,000 MW by 2017 is the part of that. But one thing about electricity generation is, you lose electricity in longer distances and you can't really store it for long.. so it's going to be lost, so better to give/sell it to a nearby neighbor then waste it. It solves their problem and generate revenue and create positive relations with our neighbors. Hope this makes sense.
There are many people here who asked if their is load shedding in india too. I can tell you about Delhi. Yes there is load shedding here too but its frequency has decreased sharply in past few years. If there was 5-8 hour power cut everyday some 5 years ago, now its only like 1 hour in a week. Sometimes even less than that.
@Pakistanis, We Indians are not your enemies. We don't want to be your enemies. It's time we, Indians and Pakistanis, moved on and made friends with each other unconditionally. Peace.
@Saad, I can speak for four cities where I have lived so far in India, namely, Jaipur, Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. These cities don't have any power cuts, not even for half an hour. I hope that answers your question. Those days are long gone. I can concede though there might be some load shedding in nondescript villages in distant parts of India, but the condition in cities is much better now.
Why we not buying from the Kyrgyzstan? They are the only nations with friendly relationships with Nawaz Sharif. And the Imran Can't.
What about the Iranian Pipeline?
Our dear friends in Delhi and Amritsar have a weakness towards Lahore, since they culturally identify it as a sister city. but India is not just Delhi and Punjab, we will fight tooth and nail, when hafeez saeed sits in an airconditioner, plotting Indian attacks on power supplied by us. These are populist rubbish, that are all fizz and not juice.
Electricity, clean drinking water, Clothing, decent housing, affordable food & healthcare -This is the stuff that most ordinary people in both countries desperately need. Shame that our jingoism and hostility has kept both countries from focussing on providing these real life stuff.
Pipe dream ???? Why can't India provide electricity to her own masses first ?
306.2m Indians, 15m Pakistanis live without electricity: WB
@Pakistani Awam: And wait another hundred years to develop own resources. Make hay while sun shines. Just imagine, how many homes and industry will benefit. Think rationally, You can start your own project to get power, and then tell India to stop supplying electricity. Please don't get carried away. Look India and China, They have wars and still have border disagreement yet both have 100 billion of trade annually. I don't know when Pakistan will learn to progress. I am a staunch believer in Almighty God , but it is only in my heart and home and when I run my business with people of other faith I leave that at home. At present people are suffering NOW because of this heat and you want to Waite hundred years, till Pakistan start making it's own Power.
Near future the indian electricity production comes around 20 times than that of pakistan production.I can't believe......no comparison between both countries.
Go for it !!! there is nothing better then growing business relations with the neighboring countries... it will also open door for more import/exports with our neighbors... I am all for it !
Can the Indians loans us some of their experts to take care of and teach us how to run our affairs as efficiently as they do their? May be some of CM Bihar's advisors on how to make an economy prosper when its people do, and some from Mr Laloo Parshad's, their Minister for Railways, to come over and run our Railway for us, please?
This is the stupidest idea ever. I can't believe Pakistan is still stuck on buying electricity. Next step will be buying water from india. SHAME ON YOU NAWAZ!!!
Akin to "rather eat grass" - it's a choice - lets hope you choose better this time around.
@Pakistani Awam:
Since there is no electricity, people are dying because of heat and industry is closed. Rather than criticizing just for the sake of criticism, decide first what is more important; let people and industry take its toll or get electricity from enemy until country develops its own resources. If you and your masters have a better plan for a quick fix then put is on the table.
Hello folks, have you thought of what happens when India pulls the plug before the last ball of the last over of Champions Trophy match?
Unclean, infidel, enemy no 1's electricity - no way..... we better be in darkness.
India would be welcomed to export electricity to Pakistan, provided the per unit electricity rate is cheaper the the per unit electricity rate of KESC and other electricity generating companies of Pakistan.
Just one question, is there any load-shedding going on in India itself? If that is the case, then how can India will export electrify to Pakistan? It would be good for India to first provide electricity to its own people than to Pakistanis.
Waste of time and money. Pakistan needs to look for its own best interest. We should focus on the Iran pipeline instead.
Where is all weather friend China???? During power cuts Chinese r not able to help u????
So PMLN is willing to import Electricity from India but dont want to complete the Iran-Pakistan gas Pipe line otherwise our Masters will become unhappy in Holy land of Saudia Arabia. Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline project could complete within one year with a budget of around 1 billions USD and could provide gas to generate 4000 Megawatts of Electricity for the next 50 years but it is being neglected only for petty sycophant attitude of our so called leaders.
At best this can be only a short term measure as India itself is electricity deficient. However, its a good gesture on India's part.
We don't want to share our electricity to pakistan even though we will be around 3,00,000 MW power output by 2017, unless and until it will be a bargaining chip for india
It makes economic sense and urgency. Take this offer and give your headache to India. This will open up industries and production. Don't be intimidated by our 'mafia', just do it.
Since when India has surplus elecricity? It will be over the dead bodies of elecricity hungry Indian Punjabis. Yes Indian know how can produce electricity in Sind using Thar coal, and then split the production.
& what do we get in return ?
We should NOT buy electricity made from our own stolen water by India?. We should make our own dames.
Please accept the offer and pay them on time. Can't find a better alternative at this time. May also reduce electricity prices due to foreign competition.
So this was the plan after all, to stop developing our own power plants and then one day we will be asking our well known foe to give us some of theirs....
It will be a good step to restore peace between two nations.
Since when does India have ample electricity. They also face power outages like us.
Problem is not electricity, problem is cost of electricity.
News says nothing about cost. ET please provide price of electricity offered by India.
if they selling it for Rs. 20/unit we can give money to IPP for same cost and keep the jobs inside Pakistan.
This is surely a joke. India has bigger power deficit than Pakistan. I think this will end like IPI pipeline, lot of bang at the beginning but ended in a whimper. Mian sahib should take this slowly.
We should take electricity from India. It will increase friendly relations