Dr Shahid Rahim
Recent developments in the global energy markets have created an unprecedented and unique
opportunity for our leaders to transform the seriously ailing power sector of the country into a viable
and vibrant contributor to powering its development dreams. It would be unfortunate if they miss this
opportunity by continuing to run this sector on traditional lines that will lock the nation into
technologies and systems that will soon become stranded and a serious liability for the nation. They
must, therefore, act quickly and effectively to check the currently unsustainable practices in the power
sector and replace these with more sustainable ways of serving the society’s and economy’s demands
for electricity. In a recent article (Daily Times: June 27), this writer had noted that the world’s energy
market had taken a favorable turn lately, opening up a historic window of opportunity for us. Small
power plants have emerged that beat the cost and performance features of large plants. Renewables,
even without government support, are proving competitive. Deployment of intelligent and smart
devices and meters in the grid are unlocking new opportunities for squeezing more value from the
existing assets and also for demand management. Affordable and modular battery storage technologies
are enabling consumers to reduce, and even eliminate, their dependence on grid supply. Electric
vehicles (EVs) are also opening up new vistas due to their dual role as loads well as sources of supply.
Our leaders and decision makers must not miss out on this historic opportunity to gradually phase out
our dependence on large-sized, capital-intensive, and largely import-dependent supply and delivery
schemes, a knot tied by imprudent decisions in the past which the nation now will have to untangle with
its teeth. They must act quickly and effectively to capitalize on these developments to reorganize our
electricity supply industry on a more decentralized and distributed “grid of the future”, instead of
walking on the same track that will just accelerate this sector’s drift to bankruptcy. With over 30 percent
of our population still without grid access and the existing consumers literally choking under the
prohibitively-expensive electricity prices. The change at any significant level, however, will not come at
its own. In the absence of a strong political will and push from the top leadership, the new technologies
and options will still find their way into the system, but may not be optimally integrated into it. To make
that happen, the government will have to aggressively pursue for these opportunities. The great ancient
Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, had observed in his timeless classic, The Art of War (equally popular
in both military and business strategy circles), “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” The
government will have to move forward proactively to seize these opportunities, otherwise these might
pass unnoticed. Three essential features of a viable energy system for any country are its “affordability”,
“security”, and “sustainability”. On all these counts, the decentralized and distributed renewable-based
supplies outperform the traditional centralized grid. With over 30 percent of our population still without
grid access and the existing consumers literally choking under the prohibitively-expensive electricity
prices, demand-centric electricity supplies at significantly lower costs can provide the much-needed sigh
of relief. These systems, for their reliance on ubiquitous renewable supplies will add to energy security
of the country which can be even further enhanced by promoting their local manufacture. These will
also be sustainable not just because they do not degrade the country’s ecosystem but also because they
will promote substantial employment in the country throughout their value chain. Our government will
have to take four critical initiatives to capitalize on these new opportunities by: (i) setting a clear vision
in a strategic plan to substitute central-station and mega-scale facilities with small-scale and distributed
renewable power supply schemes; (ii) devising a set of policies to discourage mega-scale power supply
projects, especially which base on foreign technologies and fuels; (iii) promoting lateral institutional
structures and decentralized decision making; and (iv) catalyzing a visionary research & development
(R&D) program to inform evidence-based policy formulation and decision-making in the country. We
elaborate on each of these below: First, the government will need to set a clear vision in a strategic plan
to gradually phase.