January 1, 2014
By Saeed Qureshi
I am laying down here a novel way to produce, instant, cheap
and abundant electricity in Pakistan. It is merely a brainwave and could be
mere fantasy. Here it is.
Currently Pakistan’s two overriding problems are terrorism
and acute shortage of energy. Electricity and gas is fundamental and
indispensible to run the households and industries. If houses are lit and warm,
there would be a healthy nation both physically and mentally. If we have enough
electricity and gas we can embark upon the road to progress with confidence and
assurance.
When the industries would run full time, the people would get jobs
and exports would increase voluminously bringing foreign exchange. The quality
of life would heighten and a robust nation would start shaping up.
Now the respective governments in Pakistan have failed to
generate electric power that was easy from the start as Pakistan is blessed
with vast water resources such as lakes and rivers. Unfortunately the upper
riparian is India for whom even a miniscule economic and social progress of
Pakistan is an anathema.
The Indus Waters Treaty is a World Bank brokered water-sharing treaty signed between Pakistan and India in 1960.
According to that treaty India has exclusive water usage rights on three
eastern rivers namely Bias, Sutlej and Ravi. Also, the treaty gives Pakistan
exclusive use of the western rivers Jhelum, Chenab and Indus “but with some
stipulations for development of projects on these rivers in India”. Yet India
has been flouting this agreement with willful abandon. Pakistan is not in a
situation to force India for strict compliance of that accord that deprived Pakistan
of three of its rivers.
During the past several decades India has been steadily constructing
dams for power generation. As such power is stored in the big lakes and
Pakistan remains with fingers crossed when the excess water would flow down for
use. Pakistan is an extremely difficult and most unenviable position in getting
water from the Indian side and there is likelihood that it would face severe
hardships such as famine and drought in the coming years and decades.
The river Indus is getting smaller and smaller as most of
its tributaries are located in India and its water is also being conserved in the
under construction Indian dams. Thus the prime source of water for Pakistan’s
rural sector and for making hydel power plants is being depleted barring the
rain water that fills it occasionally during the monsoon season. Pakistan
should be prepared to wash its hands of an ensured and enough supply of water
flowing down from the upper reaches of Himalayan ranges.
So the paramount question arises: what should be done in
face of such a harrowing and dismal scenario for adequate power generation. Let
me dish out my thoughts over the generation of electric energy without
depending upon the water from the five rivers or a strong and full blown rain
shower from the sky every year.
I am putting up this plan before the experts and
engineers associated with the power sector who would be in a better position to
judge and scrutinize it and ascertain the possibility of its practical implementation.
I would like to have feedback from my countless readers to figure out if this
plan is workable and can be put to fruitful use.
Before I start unraveling the contents of the plan I wonder
why the respective countries suffering from shortage of power has not envisaged
this plan that can certainly help overcome their energy crises. Well I could be
entertaining rosy picture detached from reality. Yet I believe that with some
modifications if needed, this can be put to test.
As we all are aware, oceans are huge lakes with interminable
quantity of water. The power from hydel project is generated when the turbines
are run by a powerful current of water dropped on these. That current comes
from the stored water of dams like Tarbela or Mangla Now let us suppose that
when the sea water is raised to a required level through pipes and then dropped
on the turbines installed along the coast, would it not produce the
electricity. The ocean has long coasts and therefore any number of turbines can
be installed all along.
There is a technical glitch in this scheme and that is how the
water could flow down back to the sea as water keeps its level equal. The other
question is from where the power comes to raise the water to a required level
that it can rotate the turbine with enough speed and thrust to generate
electricity. These are the questions for technocrats and engineers to address.
What I can say on my behalf is that when the water would be raised to suppose
100 feet it would fall on the turbine down below that can be kept a little bit
high from the sea level to allow it to flow back into the sea. Initially diesel
or gas can be used to operate the turbine. When turbine become functional the
power produced by these can be partially utilized on their operation as well. It
would then be self-propelling system.
As for the height or the diameter of the pipes it is again
for the experts to determine what could be the best technical data to make the
projects feasible. If this project is practicable and takes off, then Pakistan
can get rid of the chronic power shortage that has debilitated its economy and
undermined the quality of life in Pakistan. These units can function round the year
and thus there would be constant electricity supply to the country.
The power thus generated would have to be connected with the
main national grid through a transmission line. That remission network will
have to be built without any loss of time and there doesn’t seem to be any
hitch in connecting the coastal power producing units with the main grid.
The engineers can sketch the plan how long and deep the water
carrying pipes should be immersed in the sea water, how high these should be
lifted and the location of the turbines for an easy and uninterrupted flow of water
back to sea.
A secondary plan could be to build big lakes on the rivers after
every 50 or 100 miles. These lakes can be filled with water that can be raised
to a required level to be dropped on the turbines. It would be like makeshift dam
for both water and electricity production. Presumably ten such walled dams
could be built over Indus where not only the river water can be conserved but
the rain water from adjoining areas can also flow into these lakes for farming
and drinking round the year.
If wonder if there is someone among my readers who have
access to the water and power ministry to inform the stalwarts there about this
plan. I can elaborate these schemes further if I am asked to do so. I pray and
wish that the bureaucracy wakes up to its responsibilities and earnestly unfolds
plans that benefit out poor and energy starved country. In the next article
I shall present a foolproof strategy to curb definitively the Kunda culture
and stealing of the electricity and gas in Pakistan.
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