The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has presented a report which shows up the Power Division in a poor light, and illustrates the Division as one of the main obstacles to the heightened power tariffs, as well as its failure to adapt to the coming solarization revolution that is coming its way.
The failure to adapt to solarization is going to be very expensive, for it is part of a trend to scaling down, observable in other fields, where large enterprises are no longer necessary to provide certain services. The most ubiquitous example is that of the personal computer. In a simple handheld device, the smartphone, it is possible to perform computations that would have once required a huge computer serviced by trained computer scientists who would use specialised languages.
The same thing has happened to journalism, both print and broadcast. Radio, once universal, has now virtually disappeared, though radio stations still operate. Again, instead of old-style radios, one receives them on one’s smartphone. Newspapers have not entirely disappeared, but now their content is available online. In place of the old-style reporter, professional with the backing of a huge news organization behind him, there is now the citizen journalist, who is working alone and records sound and sight with unobtrusive recording devices, often enough on that very same smartphone.
In short, the First World is merely trying to buy its way out, throwing money at the problem, in a way that allows it to pollute, and to continue exerting control. The Third World must realize that its divided nationalities cannot negotiate with the true culprits if they remain as divided as bow. A caveat: strength will not be achieved by retaining the political organization given by the colonial powers
With the miniaturisation and cheapening of recording equipment, the large expensive set-ups of the past are not needed. One result is the Internet. In short, all the misinformation out there. One problem with citizen journalism is that journalists are concerned with telling an accurate story. Citizens are concerned with promoting a message. One of the biggest worries of a journalist is about editorializing inadvertently the story told must not only be factually correct, but it must also be so told that the facts are not so selected as to force a particular conclusion upon the reader. That should be the concern of a logger, but very often is not.
The same thing seems to be happening to solar power. It is often lumped with other renewables, and they all seem to have an output of electricity which involves none of the production of greenhouse gases that thermal generation does. Thermal generation is the dominant mode of producing power worldwide, but involves burning hydrocarbons, generating GHG in vast quantities.
One of the reasons for having generation and distribution companies is that individual consumers, except for large industries, cannot afford the investment needed even for small generation stations. That applies to most renewables too, like dams for hydropower, nuclear plants for nuclear power, large numbers of windmills for wind power, installations for geothermal or tidal power. Once one accepts that large quantities of electricity can be generated in one place, then comes the problem of distributing it to consumers who only need a fraction of that power.
This is where solarization makes a breakthrough, especially for domestic consumers, especially in countries with lots of sunshine, because generation comes within the control of the consumer. In Pakistan consumers sell all their production to the DISCO, and have that amount set against the electricity they consume. The NEPRA report calls for the tariff to be cut at which it buys the power sold, which would mean a lower differential between the two tariffs, making it possible to get the consumer to pay more.
That would only encourage consumers to obtain electric storage capability, at present expensive, and go off the grid entirely. It should be remembered that solarization occurred for purely economic reasons, because those who could afford the investment did not want to pay the high tariffs that were being charged.
That would leave only industrial connections as safe for the DISCOs. Even those are under threat from solar power, with an increasing number opting for solarization because the difference between virtually free power and high tariffs is too much. Some have set up solarization initiatives, where they put up the initial investment, and supply power to industrial units at much less than the DISCOs. Retail markets have not yet begun solarization, but when that happens, high-end commercial-tariff payers will go off the grid. Tubewell connections, another cash-cow for the DISCOs, are solarizing. Then will come the thousands of government connections. True, they are tricky customers, for they are the DISCOs’biggest defaulters, but they represent either revenue or receivables. What if they put panels on their roofs?
Apart from storage, there is work afoot on collecting ambient electricity in the daytime, and radiation at night, This is apart from work on controlling nuclear fusion, which is progressing slowly, but is making headway. The power business is already in the midst of a shake-up, and a shift away from fossil fuels that upends existing models of power generation.
The only way DISCOs can remain in existence is if they adapt. The idea of making large expanses into solar power parks reflects the old mentality engrained by a monopoly over generation. That WAPDA and the IPPs no longer have. That does involve large amounts of capital to be mobilised and require an elaborate transmission system, but why not use the rooftop space?
The next stage will be the replacement of oil by solar power for transport. This too will be driven by reasons of economy: fuel costs are becoming too high. Also, the progress in solarized automotive technology is fast enough to solve some of the problems that affect electric vehicles.
Obviously, the oil industry, which is worth trillions and provides a livelihood to hundreds of millions of people the world over, will resist the change.
The change was only possible because the world was frightened by climate change. That made two things harmful: GHG emissions and rainforest destruction. There is strong resistance to the extent that a climate change denier has just won re-election as US President, and appears ready to pull out all stops on petroleum and gas production.
There are also signs that the West is trying to use climate change as a means to perpetuate its present stranglehold over decolonized states. Climate justice is not very abstruse or complicated, it just wants the mess that has been created to be cleaned up by those who made it in the first place. First of all, it wants to give less money than is needed, and for that to be repaid. In other words, there is going to be a whole new round of indebtedness. All those island nations which will go under the waves, will remain as corporate persons so that their debt can be collected.
And then there are the carbon markets, where those who prevent emissions will be able to sell off carbon credits, so that rich countries can buy them and continue to engage in polluting activities. As a couple of recent Chinese cases have shown, there is a temptation to get projects assigned a value for the carbon credit market when none exists, and thus engage in a form of corruption.
The parallels with aid are striking. Project aid has involved loans which have mired a Third World country in debt, with the money embezzled by that country’s elites, thus creating a neo-colonialist debt trap for the country. This reinforces the image of feckless, corrupt and greedy natives, who were supposed to behave themselves. It is not far-fetched to imagine corporate greed combining with national interest so that there is corruption in carbon credit markets to benefit the polluting countries.
In short, the First World is merely trying to buy its way out, throwing money at the problem, in a way that allows it to pollute, and to continue exerting control. The Third World must realize that its divided nationalities cannot negotiate with the true culprits if they remain as divided as bow. A caveat: strength will not be achieved by retaining the political organization given by the colonial powers.
