Adil Najam
Are we really serious about energy conservation? And, by ‘we’ I mean all of us, not just the government.
The government is making a high profile move on the subject by announcing new policies for energy conservation, better policing of energy abuse, and of new power generation. We have written about energy often (here, here, here, here, here) and our post on solar energy continues to get much attention.
As someone who works in this area, I know that (a) this is the single most important economic leverage available to economic decision makers in Pakistan, and (b) while not easy, this – unlike other pressing issues, like water, for example – is an area where something could actually be done; because technically and even fiscally there is a real set of useful things that are actually doable.
And, yet, I find my self sadly cynical that things will change. Not just because I am still not convinced that this is a priority for the government and decision-makers but also because I know that our media is too interested in the ‘sexy’ stuff of politics to care much about this, and frankly given all we see in our own energy usage (rich or poor) I am not sure if even we consumers are willing to do anything more than crib (specially, since much that needs to be done for conservation needs to be done by us). Sadly, we pay attention only when things go so very bad that people revert to energy violence.
I feel bad about being so cynical. And I sincerely hope that I am wrong.
P.S. On a related note, here is an op-ed I just published on Pakistani environmentalist Dr. Tariq Banuri’s run to be the next United Nations climate change chief.
@Aliya:
I am sorry but your solution was regarding bettering our SUPPLY .. cutting line losses has nothing to do with conservation.. it COSTS money to cut line losses.. how is that “conservation” ??
As far as your “thinking” is concerned regarding how much conservation is going to help.. I am glad that at lease you are aware that is only your “thinking”..
I happen to be part of our industrial sector.. a small one.. no big fish to influence anything.. but have first hand experience of what “literature” you are talking about .. and how it works with reality..
In our own factory we have done everything possible to reduce our energy costs according to “literature” .. and yes we did try everything because it was a matter of survival.. and guess what .. I would rather start an NGO and get $$$ in aid working on “literature” that solves energy problems… and close the factory.. i really don’t need any tuition.. in fact I can teach you all the ways you can “conserve” energy..
If you think that conservation is “load shedding” then I am sorry there is nothing to discuss since you obviously have no understanding of conservation or what it is. There is a whole literature on energy conservation and I would suggest maybe reading some of it.
As to your claim that we need “1000 times” the energy that can be had by conservation. It is an absurd notion and I would love to see a credible reference that it is so. I would even be surprised if it is 100 times.
I have no interest in wasting time on childish sloganeering. If there is an intellectual argument to be had, as this site is known for, then I will be happy to participate.
Most of all, I would love to hear from Prof. Najam who is clearly a world expert on these things.
@Aliya:
Preventing the loss you are talking about is part of the SUPPLY issue.. its not about conservation..
conservation in our country is about shutting down businesses.. increasing holidays.. and sitting in darkness while saving the planet …
anyway.. the losses u r talking about are either line losses due to low grade metal wires being used.. or old equipment.. replacing both costs money… and that is something that MUST BE DONE .. its part of where we should be spending our money on..
but still .. the only way to minimize line losses is use Copper wires.. which is the much more expensive than spending billions on a dams in terms of energy that we get as output.. only Sheikhs of the Gulf can afford Copper ..
//But no amount of new supply can ever solve the problem if you and I keep wasting the energy that we do have.//
I don’t know y u r repeating this .. u would be able to “conserve” enough energy in a whole year at your home to run a small home-based factory in Sialkot or Faisalabad for a week.. or a large industrial unit for a few hours..
What we can conserve is in a factor of THOUSANDS of times less than the required demand.. and I am talking of demand in terms of INDUSTRIAL demand.. not bulbs, mobile chargers and ups …. for God’s sake !!!
We need to be really careful we are not wasting energy because its so less.. but thats it.. the seriously crippling crisis our country is going through is not something to sleep upon..
Giving our Government the opportunity to sleep while we enjoy our self-praise .. is suicidal..
Conserve energy? Where the hell is it?
nangi nahaye gi kiya or nichoray gi kiya
Check your facts again. 20-32% (depending on where and which sector) of our electricity is lost even before it gets to the consumer. So, right there in checking those transmission losses (and thefts) is a first conservation answer to the problem. But more than that the consumers use of energy is immensely wasteful. The figure to look at there is the unit of economic output per unit of energy and that is way bad. We our energy use wastage is even worse than countries in the Gulf oozing with energy. That energy conservation savings is estimated to be around another 25+%. Do those two things and you have immediately and overnight created more energy “generation” and are p to 1.5 times the energy that is now available to the consumer and without building a single new plant!
No one is saying supply is not a problem. But no amount of new supply can ever solve the problem if you and I keep wasting the energy that we do have.