Facts about Chasma-Jhelum hydropower plant – by Qudrat Ulla
Now a days, the provinces of Sindh and Punjab are at odds over the issue of Chasma-Jhelum Canal Project which the government of Punjab is contemplating to set up at the Chasma Jhelum Canal with a total capacity of 40MW. While the province of Sindh is opposing the project fervidly, it is needed to kaleidoscopically evaluate the project to adjudge the real situation.
The country is facing acute shortage of energy which is badly affecting the economy in every sector particularly the industrial sector. Federal Government is taking a number of initiatives to meet the energy crisis and Punjab Government has also taken numerous steps to develop power projects in public as well as in private sector under the Punjab Power Generation Policy, 2006 (revised in 2009).
Punjab, as a first step, decided to develop 48 preferred raw Hydel sites available on its canal falls through private sector. An advertisement in this regard was released in the national press. The site at the tail of Chashma Jhelum Canal, having pre-feasible potential of 40 MW, was also included in the said advertisement. M/S Haseeb Khan & Co. was selected and a letter of interest (LOI) was issued to the said company for carrying out the feasibility study of the site and the sponsor company completed the study on 25-10-2008. The main features of the project as bought out in the feasibility study are as under:
Location: CJ Link Canal Tail in District Khushab
Name of Canal: CJ link Canal
Design head: 13.86 m
Head Race: Brick lined
Design discharge of head race channel power house: 10500 cusecs
Capacity of power house: 44 MW
Plant factor of power house : 55%
Annual energy generation: 212.249 GWh
Tariff: 6.89 US cent/unit
After the approval of feasibility study by a panel of experts comprising of members from PPIB, WPPO/WAPDA and Irrigation and Power department Punjab, the sponsor company was asked to carry out power purchase agreement with the concerned DISCO and apply for power generation license and tariff determination to NEPRA.
During the public hearing for the grant of generation license to the said project by the NEPRA on 3/9/2009, Sindh province opposed the project on the pretext that said project is non-feasible and therefore should be scrapped.
Chasma- Jhelum canal off-takes from the river Indus at Chasma district Mianwali, Punjab. It was constructed in 1970 in consequences of Indus Waters Treaty signed with India in 1960 in order to meet the requirement of Pakistan canals off-taking from the three eastern rivers i.e., Ravi, Bias and Satluj. Consequently, Pakistan was required to construct a set of replacement works to transfer supplies from western rivers to eastern rivers which were earmarked for exclusive use by India. Accordingly, Indus Basin Replacement Project comprising of two mega dams at Mangla and Tarbela, six new headworks and seven new link canals were completed during the period 1960-1976.
Chasma Jhelum Link is one of the aforesaid Link Canals constructed to off-take from Chasma Barrage and transfer Tarbela/Indus River water to feed the Punjab Eastern River Canals. It has a full supply capacity of 21700 Cusses. Keeping in view the post accord water flow in CJ link authorized by IRSA, C-J is operated by WAPDA out of Punjab share allocated by IRSA.
Government of the Punjab, at all levels, has assured that project would be operated as per availability of water in the canal out of Punjab share allocated by IRSA. NEPRA has also conducted the hearing for tariff determination on 28-01-2010 and announced that generation license for the project has been approved. This project will be able to supply cheap renewable energy in the National Grid.
This matter was also discussed in a meeting of Prime Minister of Pakistan with the Chief Minister on 18-02-2010. A delegation of Government of the Punjab visited Karachi on 20-02-2010 and had a detailed meeting with Government of Sindh to discuss Water Apportionment Accord 1991 and other issues. As a follow up of the said meeting, technical teams of irrigation Departments of the two provinces met in Lahore on 22nd February, 2010 wherein; Punjab Government maintained that Project was a private sector initiative and Government of Punjab was facilitating the investors like any other private sector project. The matter falls in the purview of NEPRA to determine whether it is feasible project or not. Government of Sindh has already filed a review petition against the approval of generation license and it is now for NEPRA to allow or disallow the project and whatever decision is taken by NEPRA, all concerned will have to abide by it.
The Punjab government has already conceded to the Sindh demand over the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal, and voluntarily halved its share of water from the Indus zone through this vital link from Sunday. Reacting sharply to this, Opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Monday has lodged a strong gripe against, what they called “the provincial government’s voluntary surrender of its water share water from Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal to Sindh” as they alleged that Punjab has surrendered two thousand cusecs of water per day from Chashma canal to Sindh. Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is in a quandary; he has a reputation for sacrificing for the other provinces they in turn have not reciprocated such sentiments.
However, Sindh’s feeding frenzy is without facts and historical data proves the case in Punjab’s favor. Sindh is failing to recognize Punjab’s aver that this channel is a perennial canal which provides water to Southern areas of the province and it will not in any way discourage Sindh’s water share. Moreover, the project will add 40 MW electricity to national grid station to overcome the power shortage.
Sindhi nationalists should also bear in mind that it’s India which is blocking their legitimate share of water by illegally constructing 62 hydro power structures on the waters of Pakistan to turn Pakistan into a waterless retreat of hunger and famine. Punjab is main food-basked of the whole country and the water utilized by Punjabi farmers will benefit the whole country.
The electricity crisis undermines the development process in Pakistan, as the domestic units have come down to a standstill. The United States will provide $16 million for improving the operational capacity of the Tarbela dam hydroelectric plant. It will help generate additional electricity of 375MW. Pakistan needs to utilize the maximum of this aid so that we can cope up with this crisis in an effective manner.
Renewable Energy
A widely ignored source of energy in Pakistan
There is term used in the developed nations with respect to energy, the grid parity. Grid capacity is termed as energy generated from all the known conventional sources like hydel, nuclear, etc. Many developed nations are now crossing conventional grid parity by using renewable sources primarily from solar & then wind. USA is targeting 2015 to achieve grid parity. Israel has already achieved the grid parity. Germany claims to have achieved it. Germany is leading in solar power, more than the USA, having almost 4~5 hours of sunshine mostly in many regions, their power generation from solar energy alone would be around 26000 MW.
To utilize this immense source of energy, still costly, their governments have devised certain incentives and subsidies to persuade the user to utilize the benefits by switching over to RE sources of energy and utilizing energy efficient appliances. Few of main incentives are enumerated below;
Incentives can be classified into two types;
1 – Investment-friendly Incentives
2 – Consumer-friendly Incentives
First type of incentive attracts investors to invest in the solar energy business at large. The later will attract final consumers to buy and use the technology. Lack of awareness in latest technologies, what so ever indispensable they may be initially, the investor and the consumer will remain shy to spend for a considerable time. Multidimensional incentive policies create visions and milestones, helps both to overcome that reluctance and the technology use becomes common.
• Net metering: The excess electricity produced by solar or wind energy by the residential or a commercial producer will be purchased by the national grid (Government).
• Feed in tariff: The most attractive incentive, when consumer sells his excess electricity to the national grid, he is paid times higher than the rate he pays to buy the electricity.
• Taxation exemption: User will be exempted from taxation at a certain rate per annum.
• Buy in subsidy: The purchase cost is subsidized by government up to 30% making the overall cost of the solar system to minimal.
China is amongst the biggest producers of renewable energy products in the world and own almost 45% share of overall world’s RE production. India has alone almost more than 250 industries manufacturing RE products. In sharp contrast, Pakistan has only one company manufacturing solar panels with the component composition ratio of 70:30 (70% local and 30% imported) in Hattar, that’s it.
In 2006, a department started functioning in Pakistan naming AEDB (Alternate Energy Development Board) to promote solar and wind energy in Pakistan. That department is in continuous stagnation since its inception other than one or two projects of wind energy on coastal areas.
Every day, Pakistan receives an average of about 19 mega-joules per square meter of solar irradiation or at a rate of 1000 watts per square meter in easy terms.
Much of Pakistan, especially, Balochistan, Sindh, and southern Punjab, receives abundant solar irradiation on the order of over 2 MWh/m2 and 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, which is at the highest end of global insolation averages.
Pakistan can, by the use of abundant solar resource, can produce enough energy to fulfill the demands of generations to come. The right awareness, right laws, friendly policies and additional attractive industrial promotion can give a tremendous boost for the use of solar energy to the limits of self reliance. Such a self reliance will create an atmosphere where development can take place with a speed, without restraint of energy deficiency fear.
When grid-connected, solar electric generation can displace the highest cost of electricity during times of peak demand (in most climatic regions), can reduce grid loading, and can eliminate the need for local battery power for use in times of darkness and high local demands.
At consumer’s point of view, he will be generating electricity free of any charge from sunlight and when appropriate law applications in place can sell the excess electricity to the national grid at agreed rates thus sharing the electricity production side by side. Solar energy is costly world wide as a solar panel is made to work for 25~30 years with 100% stated efficiency and the manufacturer tends to get the future value of their product, at one time, from the buyer.
In Pakistan, energy will remain a mammoth obstruction to the way of our development. Population flood is rising, water resources are declining, fuel prices are escalating and the nuclear power plant technology is out of hand. The solar energy remains the only natural, affordable and reliable way of generating energy individually and commercially, as well as at national level, to keep the wheel of free living and development running.
Main political parties of Sindh and especially Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa please stop opposing Kala Bagh Dam building as this is one of the biggest blunders of politics which is going on. People opposing this project are not even aware of how much damage they are causing to the country. Besides most of them does not know the technicalities and facts about this project. They are just opposing this project in order to gain little political benefit, but on the other hand giving so much damage to the progress of our country.
I must say that I must have been a little leary of all of the hype going on around solar. After taking a look at many programs and buy options my spouce and i thought to make the leap. We finished up getting solar without any money down and now we immediatly started putting money aside the 1st month is was installed. I have to admit the benefits of solar look like they’re real and I am happy we chose to move forward with it.