Pakistan is deemed to be energy inefficient like India and needs to overcome these problems by politically and institutionally supporting renewable energy.
These views were expressed by speakers at a session on “Sustainable Energy for All” on the second day of the 17th Sustainable Development Conference, organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute on Wednesday.
Speakers concluded that dependence on a single type of fuel was the prime reason for lack of electricity, adding that even though the region was filled with natural resource, there is a mismatch in managing them.
Dr Musadik Malik, special assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, stated that “We assume ourselves to be who we are not. We are not Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and even Qatar. We blindly invest in projects that do not have scope in the future, like in the case of gas when it was supplied all over the country and now we are running out of reserves.”
He said supplies are being cut down and replaced by Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Despite the risks of LPG, it is still prevalent in the country due to the low cost, he added.
Sohaib Malik from the World Wind Energy Association, Germany said South Asia was lagging behind in exploiting wind energy potential.
India meanwhile, he shared, was leading the wind energy market and is currently the first with a staggering high production rate. “Pakistan only produces 106MW energy through wind,” he said adding “because of insufficient grid infrastructures and interconnection facilities, lack of coordination among government agencies and government’s inability to fulfill power purchases commitments”.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2014.
1732849469-0/women-in-male-field-(1)1732849469-0-165x106.webp "article")
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ