WE THE PEOPLE
Even with commissioning of Baglihar-II, there is no let-up in power curtailment
Hence necessity for harnessing renewable and conventional sources of energy has become unavoidable in J&K
By: M. Shirjeel
Srinagar: With the commissioning of Baglihar-II phase, it was expected that there will be no power-cuts in Kashmir valley, but curtailments continue to remain operative with no sign of immediate relief in sight. It is ironical that Kashmir valley has remained quite deficit in power generation, putting Vallietes to severe hardships. Large segments of Kashmir continue to reel under shadows of darkness. The state government has failed to persuade central authorities to part with Salal and Uri hydel projects so far. Hence harnessing renewable and conventional sources of energy has become unavoidable in the state.
With the growing population, demand for power has multiplied manifold, as it is an important factor to sustain economic growth. It was in this background that the Central Government notified National Electricity Policy in 2005, which aims at accelerated development of the power sector, providing supply of electricity to all areas with reliability and quality and protecting interests of consumers and other stakeholders. This necessitates per capita availability of electricity to be increased to over 1000 units by 2012. But the installed capacity in the country being 130000 MWs, which stands outstripped by the accelerated economic growth. It calls for effective steps so that electricity does not become a constraint on country’s economy. It also calls for harnessing resources, which have remained untouched and unexploited so far. It cannot be ignored that rising global prices of petrol and diesel have brought to the fore the importance of energy independence and minimizing dependence on imports. But this energy independence cannot be achieved by continued reliance on the conventional fossil fuel sources like coal and oil, but by exploiting non-conventional sources like sun, wind, biomes etc. besides nuclear and hydro. The reasons that the fossil fuels are not only limited in supply, but contribute to climate change with far reaching consequences. On other hand, non-conventional sources are available in abundance, free of cost and do not affect ecology.
“It is a fact that Kashmir Valley has abundant hydel potential, but it is strange that only a fraction of it stands exploited during last five decades. This shows that the authorities at the helm of affairs from time to time have paid scant attention to this important sector. They had forgotten that power is the engine for growth. It is power that acts as a driving force for agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and above all industrial development. No sphere of life is able to function if it is devoid of power. Harnessing hydel potential is always cheaper, but this basic concept too has escaped the attention of the authorities so far. A few power projects stand taken-up and executed by NHPC and their benefits stand drawn and enjoyed by the said Corporation. It is a cruel joke that the mother supplying milk stands denied its finished product. The Salal and Uri Hydel Projects are standing examples, which have reportedly given the cost of the projects back to the NHPC long back, and it was proper that these projects are transferred to J&K Government which has been purchasing power at a very high cost. As far as harnessing renewable and non-conventional sources of energy are concerned, it may be said that Ladakh region is the ideal site for generating solar and wind energies. The Jammu region also falls in the same line, but Kashmir can generate hydro electricity in plenty”, said a group of elderly persons of Kashmir Valley.
It is worth mentioning that wind alone accounts for 4434 MWs, solar power 1748 MWs and small hydro sources can yield 15000 MWs of power. Besides metering of both domestic and commercial establishments and reduction of transmission and distribution losses can go a long way to meet our energy needs. There is enough scope for generating nuke energy, but it is for the authorities to choose the course.
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