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dam-l US Interest in Hydropower/ Energy in South Asia (fwd)
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From cwaterp@del3.vsnl.net.in Sat Mar 11 08:26:26 2000
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 18:46:55 +0530
From: Himanshu Thakkar <cwaterp@del3.vsnl.net.in>
1. Source: Editorial in Kathmandu Post, March 11, 2000
Energy prospects in S Asia
The interest shown by US energy giants to cooperate with governments
and the private sector in the
energy sector to meet demand in South Asia two weeks ahead of President
Clinton’s visit to the region
is encouraging indeed. This is the first time that such interest in
South Asia has been shown from
economic point of view. Energy South Asia conference which concluded
the other day stressed on lack
of investment friendly policies and governments of the region should
take a cue and review their policies.
However, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) that organised the
conference failed to
mention that hydropower development, particularly in Nepal, is not
possible without India’s cooperation
because India will be the ultimate market for power harnessed in Nepal
on a large scale. Unfortunately,
Indian cooperation usually has a price in which India has invariably
had the upper hand in the
negotiations. This factor itself could discourage American energy
giants.
The three day Energy South Asia conference highlighted the demand and
potential for harnessing
energy in South Asia. The major event of the conference was the
presentation of upcoming energy
projects worth nearly 40 million dollars. The parley on energy was
successful in the sense that it
brought together government participants from South Asia divided along
diverse lines on economic
issues together. This in itself has drawn the attention of South Asian
governments the benefits accruing
from energy development. However, it remains to be seen to what extent
the organisers can pursue this
agenda so that the entire region moves into an era of "general
affluence" through the sale and use of
energy.
The US no doubt sees South Asia as a most promising market with
competent and cheap work force. In
the case of Nepal, three factors need to be considered before awarding
any hydropower project to US
companies. The first is whether the government can really live up to
the expectations of investors.
Secondly, one question that must be mulled over is whether all of the
energy harnessed is for sale to
Indian states or will some of it also be used for development
activities in Nepal. Moreover, the growing
number of consumers within the country also has to be considered.
Finally, the most tricky part is the
question of downstream benefits accruing to India. Considering the heat
mega-projects tend to generate
when it comes to the question of serving or damaging national interest,
the materialization of these
projects are easier said than done.
The latest drive for mega-hydro projects in South Asia emanates from
the fact that one-fifth of the
population in the region still gropes in darkness. And as though to
make matters worse, governments in
the region are more occupied with territorial disputes and mistrust
each other. This makes cooperation
difficult if not impossible. Therefore, it is high time the countries
of this region realised that the well being
of South Asia lies in cooperation and concerted efforts. Unless this is
there, a conducive environment for
working out deals with the US energy giants will not be possible.
2. Source: Kathmandu Post, March 11, 2000
Hydropower can help fighting global warming
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, March 10 - Binod Kumar Chaudhary, a leading industrialist
and President of the
Chaudhary Group of Industries has pointed out that a proper use of
hydropower of Nepal could make
crucial contribution to the energy deficient SAARC subcontinent and to
the problem of global warming.
Chaudhary pointed out this while presenting a paper on " developing
national and regional power grids"
in a two-day long Energy Meet held here from March 6-8.
In his paper Chaudhary has urged that it is essential to create a truly
independent transmission system,
as a common carrier providing wheeling rights to all potential
developers.
"The future development to a system with, let us say, an equal amount
of domestic and export supply
will demand some realistic and constructive cooperation between
government and the private sector,"
adds the paper.
The paper further says, it must encourage development of the export
market and make sensible
allocation of costs between national and private sector accounts.
Pointing to the need for increasing
interconnection with India and possibly Bangladesh, Chaudhary said,
"Interconnection may be expected
at any points along Nepal’s southern boarder at points where supply and
demand can be economically
matched at reasonable tariff."
The paper also discusses the possibility of providing regional system
with very significant supply of
environmentally attractive, renewable energy. The development of the
massive storage hydropower
projects planned for the Karnali Chisapani and Gandaki basin will make
a vital contribution to the region,
states the paper.
Transportation through regional interconnected system over 1,000 Km to
1,500 Km or more is today
entirely feasible. This means that the very large renewable energy
resources of Nepal could provide
ecologically acceptable hydropower which go a long way to balancing off
the ever increasing reliance on
Carbon dioxide producing fuels burned in thermal power plants.
Against this backdrop, argues the paper, "there is a need to
reintroduce wide scale regional power
system philosophies on a subcontinental scale taking full advantage of
the benefit offered by the
hydropower resources of Nepal’s Himalayan Block."