Tuesday May 30, 2006

Blackouts plague South Asia nations as mercury boils

channelnewsasia.com :

As south Asia enjoys unprecedented economic growth, soaring summer temperatures have highlighted a chronic shortage of electricity that is crippling enterprise and leaving millions to suffer without any hope of respite. From India, the world's second fastest growing major economy after China, to impoverished Bangladesh, governments are plagued by the problem of growing demand for power combined with inadequate supply.

Earlier this month almost half of Bangladesh was plunged into darkness for several hours as the national electricity grid tripped shutting down most of the country's power generation units. The country's average shortfall is 700-800 megawatts daily rising on occasions to up to 1,800 megawatts, nearly half of output.

Experts say South Asian nations are failing to add the capacity needed to keep up with economic growth, pointing out that China adds more than 28,000 megawatts of capacity on average annually compared to only 4,500 megawatts in India.

India has been hailed for its rapid development but critics say it has no viable strategy to tackle its power problems. In parts of the Indian capital Delhi, residents are left to swelter for up to ten hours at a stretch. Temperatures hit the mid-40s Celsius (111 degrees Farenheit) during May and June. In some rural areas there is electricity for only two hours a day or none at all. Some 47 power plants are behind schedule.

Pakistan enjoyed a power surplus until last year but this year it is faced with a daily shortfall of 415 megawatts expected to rise to 1,457 megawatts next year. Although there are plans to install as many as 45 hydro and thermal power projects with a capacity of about 12,000 mw, they are expected to take years to become operational.

Experts say that without added capacity there are no quick fixes. Instead, they urge governments and private citizens to do everything they can to save power from changing working hours to avoid the hottest part of the day and closing shops and businesses by 5:00 pm.

(2006-05-30 07:11:29 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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