Power that Binds Pakistan and India Found in South Asian Grid

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--To sustain economic growth, India will need about 250,000 megawatts (MW) by 2017. Currently, total domestic power generation capacity is about 180,000 MW. It is envisaged that a South Asian power grid will give the region 100,000 MW to trade and will allow India to benefit from the hydropower and natural gas reserves of neighboring countries.

Indian Minister of Power K.C. Venugopal said that South Asia is a major hub of fast-growing economies, with 25% of the world's population. "There is an ongoing shift in focus from agriculture to manufacturing," he said. "No South Asian country can meet its energy needs entirely from within its own domestic resources. We need to integrate the entire region with a robust power grid."

Grid models connecting Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland in the northern hemisphere and linking South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe in the southern hemisphere are being studied. For related information, see November 14, 2011, article - Central Asian 1,600-Kilometer Power Line Receives $500 Million Russian Push.

An integrated grid network across South Asia will bring down power costs and improve the manufacturing competitiveness of all participating countries, according to a study by the Confederation of Indian Industry. It also said that energy and electricity cooperation are non-traditional areas of trade relationship development, but Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and India have major hydropower potential that can be accessed for intra-regional power trade.

There are plans to boost India's existing transmission link with Bhutan to carry power imports of 5,000 MW to India by 2020. Indian power project contractors are now working on 10,000 MW of projects in Bhutan and 1,000 MW in Nepal. For related information, see November 16, 2011, article - Nepal's Massive Hydropower Potential to Feed India and Bangladesh Grids.

Government officials from Pakistan and India are due to meet in December to finalize the details of power tariffs and grid connectivity, with a view to India selling 500 MW to its neighbor to help solve a chronic power shortage. As Lahore has existing transmission lines and grids, it will be cost-effective to transfer the power through Amritsar.

This is a significant factor in the fast-growing thaw in trade relations between the two countries, where there is perceived to be a political will among leaders of both countries to build trade relations.

India and Bangladesh are working on a power transmission project, which could begin with a transfer of 500 MW of Indian power and then be phased up to 1,000 MW. The two countries also are developing power generation projects in Bangladesh.

A 285-kilometer power link, with a 50-kilometer submarine section, could be in place between India and Sri Lanka by 2013. The line will start with 500 MW of transfer capacity and could reach 1,000 MW by 2016. It will assist in bridging Sri Lanka's power shortfall and in managing peak demand. For further information, see November 2, 2011, article - India's PowerGrid Plans 65,000 Kilometers of Transmission Lines in Expansion Drive.

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