Mian Mobeen Shaukat, student mechanical engineering, Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology
With plans afoot to bring electricity to every village in the country, coupled with the need for greater industrial growth to cater for the enormous requirements of Central Asia, the per capita energy utilization in Pakistan is set to grow.
However, in spite of their protestations to the contrary the WAPDA authorities have initiated countrywide load shedding in the past. The perspective of the situation was that many of the medium and small scale industrial units were lying idle and many of the larger units have been running at less than full capacity !!
The writing on the wall is too clear and far too far from being comfortable. The demand supply gap in our electrical power generation is negative and with the progress of time, day by day, month by month and year by year, this gap is projected to widen, not arithmetically, but close to exponentially! However we can somehow avoid worse conditions if we start acting promptly from the time on.
Indeed, the requirement for power generation in Pakistan is becoming more and more crucial. It is important not only for our technical and socio-economic growth, but has also become imperative to sustain the present state of affairs.
Of the a major forms of power generation, there are three options available to us i.e., Nuclear, Thermal and Hydel.
Nuclear, though expensive as far as the infra structural requirements are concerned, will definitely be the most economical one to generate power for a longer time span and with a proper and diligently maintained safe-guards against radiation leaks it will have comparatively no short term effects on the environment. However, due to a number of external political factors our capacity to depend on it, alone for power-generation, is somewhat restricted.
Thermal energy generation is dependent on fossil fuels, which have to be imported as their availability in the country is somewhat restricted. Also, it is a fact their extraction is costly process, which has a direct impact on the cost of the generation of electricity.
Cost per unit of electricity is a major consideration in Pakistan. Why is the emphasis being laid so much on the cost ? It's because, being a third world nation and having a weak economy, the cost must be of major concern for any such Government which wishes to remain in power.
Envioronmentally, the thermal power genration is a distaster. It is a direct form of power generaion devised by man. Whether the power stations are run on fuel-oils, gas or coal, the end products , i.e., the burnt hydrocarbons and the organic materials, are bing perpetually released into the atmosphere. In contrast, the number of adverse environmental damages caused by Nuclear or Hydel generation systems are negligible.
The most non-controversial mode of power generation in Pakistan shall always by the Hydel mode of Power Generation. As discussed before, this project might have its own socio-economic effects, but years of research and feasibility reports by world class experts have cleared up the confusion in the air to such a large extent that the project may by be regarded as a model in itself.
Once it starts working, it will provide the nation with a continuous peak power of 1250KW. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and year after year, as long as the Indus continues to flow past its huge turbines, a continuous supply of power will be guaranteed. After its passage through the dam, the water will still by clean, deep blue and environmentally friendly. Perhaps, it may by slightly magnetically charged due the effect of the generators, but it is a fact that magnetic water is health friendly.
By and large the Ghazi Barotha Power Project has overcome the minor discrepancies and irritants, which in any case form an integral part of all projects of this type. It is well on its way to completion by the beginning of the next century.
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