Kashmir's energy and climate imperatives

First published in Daily Greater Kashmir, 31^st May, 2009

Daddy’s Day Out

Of Kashmir’s energy, climate and senior Abdullah

Arjimand Hussain Talib

After some hiatus full of suspense, the cat is finally out of the bag – Kashmir’s ‘prodigal son’, the senior Abdullah, got a ministerial berth at New Delhi. Political pundits would call the portfolio Mr. Abdullah got an act of mortification for the National Conference at the hands of the Congress Party. To most people, it sounds like Congressmen’s sweet revenge from an ally ‘who made it lose the Ladakh parliamentary seat’.

Say whatever, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is going to be boring for the senior Abdullah. Looking at his tastes and temperament, new and innovative technologies may hardly appeal to him. A ministry largely driven by dull science, whose commercial and economic viability generally remains in question, may not excite him. Imagine if he got tourism or a commerce ministry!

Jokes and scepticism apart, his day out at the ministry offers some great opportunities as well.

Two other important events that happened in Kashmir last week couldn’t have occurred at a more apt time. The international workshop on ‘Energy Challenges in J&K State’ held at the Kashmir University was one such event. The Geology and Geophysics Department there has earned a great reputation of serious and tangible work, which goes beyond symbolism. Some of the deliberations at the workshop have set a clear agenda for the Senior Abdullah.

The first meeting of the Working Group on Climate Change in Kashmir, coincidentally happening at the Kashmir University, has again come at the right time. Again, it has set another significant agenda for Mr. Abdullah.

To begin with, we need to recognise that there is something very vital about the whole debate on climate change and energy needs of Kashmir: the political and the social context. An excessive focus on the technology-driven solutions, driven by hoopla, would be an approach to nowhere. There are some vital facts, some myths, and even some issues driven by academic excitement, which we must keep in sight.

When it comes to energy research in Kashmir, the fundamental point of reference is political. Let us take water and hydro power, for instance. No matter the qualitative research on these two issues, the fact is that the basics would remain the same.

Kashmir under the current political and administrative system would always be short of means to exploit its water resources for the benefit of its people. The end result would be the same – powerful public and private corporations would invest, exploit and sell Kashmir’s resources. And people would continue to remain energy-starved. Our economy would continue to remain under strain due to severe power shortage. Our domestic product would hardly be able to keep pace with our population growth.

Today Kashmir’s challenges emanate from climate change, food insecurity; high militarisation and poor per capita energy availability. The question is how to address them.

Even as powerful public and private corporations exploit Kashmir’s water resources for generating electricity, we earn massive carbon credits, for the power houses we host are generally environment-friendly. But who takes the benefit of these carbon credits? How do we plan to harmonise our future industrial and energy establishments in relation to our carbon credits? These are some fundamental questions that we need to address.

An Energy Research Institute in Kashmir could, at best, provide academic feedback to the range of energy options to the existing political system. That feedback, if not sensitive to the local people’s needs, could translate into further entrenchment of the centralised exploitation of energy resources in Kashmir.

Let us do not lose sight of the macro-level realities. Alternative energy discourse must not dwarf the existing exploitative system. India’s public-sector National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) has got four new major power projects on our rivers - the Sewa-II (120 MW) on Chenab, Uri-II (240 MW) on Jhelum, Kishenganga (330 MW) on Kishangaga river and the 1,020 MW Bursur project on Marusudar River, a tributary of the Chenab.

The NHPC, India’s Power Trading Corporation (PTC) and Kashmir’s State Power Development Corporation (SPDC) have signed another MoU for developing Pakal-Dul and two other hydroelectric projects in the Chenab River basin in October 2008. Together they will produce 2,100 megawatts (MW) of power. And what benefit would they incur to Kashmir’s people?

NHPC Chairman, Mr. S.K. Garg, has already said it publicly that out of the 14 power projects the NHPC runs in India, ‘Kashmir projects were the most economical, giving maximum profit’.

We also need to advocate for removal of the veil over the regime of environmental and social impact assessment of big power projects in Kashmir. Why are they mired in secrecy? Why can’t we be transparent about them? We need to know the costs we are paying for these projects.

At the energy workshop there was also a talk of exploring hydrocarbon reserves in Kashmir. In practical terms, it would mean the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) undertaking drilling, and if at all they hit oil or gas, market it. What would energy-starved Kashmir get?

A departure from the current political conditions would require Kashmir government to renegotiate the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), which must take care of Kashmir’s special constitutional and political status.

In view of the cost benefit analysis, Kashmir has very little or no scope for developing alternative energy resources like those obtained from biomass, wind, geothermal sources or tides. Solar power would continue to retain its minuscule status – again due to its high costs and technical limitations.

It is now almost well established by research that not all of this renewable energy potential may be suitable for grid-interactive power for technical and/or economic reasons.

There is indeed a possibility of exploring Small Hydro Power Schemes (up to 25 MW) under public-private partnership system. This area falls well within the domain of the ministry that Mr. Farooq heads now. But, as always, the questions on economic viability and maintenance would remain.

Let us do not lose sight of our experience with the development of Micro and Mini Hydro Power Schemes in Kashmir’s inaccessible and border areas. Barring a few exceptions, almost all of them lie defunct today.

Then let us take Kashmir municipal waste, which continues to be an environmental challenge to us. Can we create energy from that? In whole of India, the current technically-feasible municipal waste-to-energy potential is assessed at 1700 MWe (Mega Watt Equivalent). Its economic viability remains a big challenge.

Energy is a highly political question. We also need to be mindful of the corporate interest in pushing energy ideas which do not help local economies. Academics may serve to strengthen the status quo, mired in inequalities and injustices or trigger a break from it. The former is no option at all.

A lot would also depend on how Senior Abdullah is able to influence the thinking and policies on new and renewable energy in Kashmir. And time would tell if his day out at the ministry made any difference to the exploitative and unjust energy regime Kashmir’s poor people have been made to live with.

Feedback at Arjimand@greaterkashmir.com