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| Sunday, 9 May 2004 |
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Energy demand in Asian region will double - Experts by Shanika Sriyananda With the new development projects in the pipeline, the energy demand will be doubled in the Asian region in the next decade, said energy experts in the South Asian countries at the South Asia Forum for Energy Journalists (SAFEJ) held in Kathmandu, Nepal where 25 journalists from SARRC countries gather to discuss energy crisis in their countries, last week. The Forum was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The experts from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan stressed the need of implementing energy conserving methods to prevent energy crises in future. Sridhar Samudrala, Senior Nuclear Engineer and Deputy Program Manager of the United States Energy Association (USEA) said that energy was the life blood of the South Asian countries and economic development would not be possible without quality supply of energy. "Every government should provide leadership for an efficient energy supply. The economics of these countries would depend on reliable and quality supply of energy", he said. He also said that the Asian countries should work together to find a common solution to meet the increasing demand for energy. Journalists representing the SAARC countries discussed their problems, achievements and future challenges in the energy sector. Power thieves and failure of maintaining solar power panels are the main problems in Bhutan, where 45 percent of the country's economy is dependent on power exports to India. But 60 percent of Bhutanese do not have access to power. The highest per capita consumption of firewood in the region is reported from Bhutan. According to journalists, the country would not have a serious power problem if the stealing of power could be cut down. "Solar power is a failure because of poor maintenance and technical assistance. We need power mainly to conserve our forests", they said. The journalists from SAARC countries also discussed the ways of bringing down the transmission losses, which is high in every country, power restructuring, issues related to the energy industry, and a sound reporting of energy issues. Nepal and Bangladesh have already set up their local chapters of SAEFJ and India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are yet to establish their local bodies. The journalists stressed the need of including the journalists from Pakistan to the Forum. |
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