South Asia's Regional Power Grid Awaits SAARC-Leaders' Approval

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--A proposal for setting up a regional electricity grid in South Asia is likely to get approval during the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, to be held on November 26-27. SAARC is a group of eight south Asian nations including India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The ambitious plan for establishing the grid, which has been in the works for quite some time, was discussed during the SAARC energy ministers' meeting, held last month in New Delhi. India's Minister for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal had called on the member countries for setting up a multi-national power grid to interlink the transmission systems of the SAARC-nations.

Once in place, excess production of electricity in one country of the region can be utilized to address the shortage faced elsewhere in the region. The transnational grid would also help cut trade deficits for countries like Nepal and Bangladesh with other member nations, by augmenting cross-border electricity-trade. Notably, SAARC is the least integrated region in the world with intra-regional trade at 5%, while it is 32% for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 50% in European Union and about 68% in North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade bloc.

About 30% of the region's energy demands are met through imports, and the household per capita consumption of electricity in SAARC is mere 128 units, as against the global average of 3,045 units. The proposed grid will enable sharing of excess electricity in a region with another region, which is experiencing a deficit.

Currently, India is importing about 1,500 megawatts (MW) from Bhutan while exporting around 500 MW to Bangladesh and 150 MW to Nepal, in addition to a slew of projects waiting to be constructed or finalized with these countries. A plan to construct an ultra high voltage underwater line between India and Sri Lanka also is in the pipeline.

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