Rationale understanding of ground realities

Need of the hour:

Political leaders in this country talk about an issue only when it reaches a crisis point. This is true for almost all issues that we are confronted with today. Energy crisis is no exception in this regard.

There is no need to say that we should have sound policies in such sectors as energy and transport. This was pointed out by scientists and intellectuals several decades back. But policy makers in this country did not bother.

Today we have reached a crisis situation with oil prices skyrocketing almost daily. Yet, we do not hear anything from politicians as regards long term policies. They all talk about adjusting prices to deal with the situation.

One of the crucial characteristics in the Sri Lankan energy sector is its total dependence on imports compared with a country like India, which has , at least, part of its oil produced in the country itself. This has placed Sri Lanka in a vulnerable position in the context of the present oil crisis.

Though India is also heavily dependent on imported oil, that country has some of its own sources of energy such as coal.

Given this fundamental flaw in Sri Lankan energy sector, Sri Lanka is bound to suffer more acutely than other countries as oil prices go up in the world market. The balance of payment of the country is another issue that has a bearing on the energy crisis.

It is a known fact that Sri Lanka’s export earnings are not sufficient to foot the import bill and the deficit, thus, created has been bridged by foreign aid and inward remittances In the long run, debt burden on economy will also further undermine its resilience against a crisis situation.

Unlike many other countries in the world, Sri Lanka has hardly any trade surplus against any country. Even under normal circumstances, Sri Lanka has to find money to bridge the widening gap between the import bill and its export earnings. The present status of the Sri Lankan economy has made the country’s situation very vulnerable in the face of the present oil crisis.

A country that does not produce oil while saddled with a serious balance of payment problem needs to be extra careful in managing its energy economy. It is important to look into ways and means of managing the country’s energy economy in the most prudent manner.

To identify other areas that have a bearing on the energy sector. It is common sense that Sri Lanka can not simply afford to continue with the current trends in the energy economy where oils price is going up.

Instead the energy policy should be geared to reduce consumption of oil so that we could reduce our dependence on oil. So the corner stone of Sri Lankan energy policy should be to explore possibilities of cutting down energy consumption

Against the ground realities, demand reduction seems to be the only way out of the crisis. For instance, sixty five per cent of electricity is generated by thermal power plants. It is clear that Sri Lanka can not afford to rely overwhelmingly on thermal power when oil prices are soaring in the world market.

Sri Lanka has absolutely no choice but produce electricity by alternative means; solar, biomass, biogas or hydro-power reducing dependence on oil. Possibilities should also be explored to reduce dependence on oil in other sectors such as transportation.

Reliance on oil in Industrial sector has also to be reduced using alternative sources of energy. For instance, some of the sugar production plants can generate their own energy by using biomass. Some times, it is also possible for them to channel the surplus energy either to the national grid or to be re-used in their production facilities.

It should be noted that the present crisis was foreseen by scientists and intellectuals as far as 1986, at a time when oil was not a major issue. A symposium organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) was held in Colombo where the then Minister of Transport was the Chief Guest.

At the symposium it was pointed out in no uncertain terms that Sri Lanka had to have a sound transportation policy covering all sectors of transport with a view to reducing Sri Lanka’s dependency on oil.However, the scientists felt that an oil crisis would have an adverse impact on Sri Lankan economy and even other aspects of life.

For instance the use of heavy vehicles for the transportation of goods can be drastically reduced by developing an efficient network of railways. It should be noted that the British built the railway not to simply transport passengers but to transport plantation produce and to transport supplies to the plantations.

The idea behind the extension of the railway to the harbour was to transport goods from harbour to other parts of the country. The existing railways can be further extended connecting major cities and trade centres to the network. Fore instance, Kelani valley can be extended up to Ratnapura and Kandy line can be extended beyond Badulla. Substantial investments need to be made in the railways in order to make it efficient and comfortable so that a majority of the people can be attracted to it.

In early 1970’s railways were used by almost everyone including Ministers, MPs, the middleclass and businessmen. Railway was not only used for travelling up and down from the places of work but for leisure purposes by public servants on holidays. If Sri Lanka had developed the railway, roads would have been more passenger-people friendly. Introduction of luxury and semi-luxury coaches in railway would have taken care of the tourist transport.

Had Sri Lanka developed mass transit, the country could have reduced a lot of vehicle imports such as motor-bicycles, cars and other vehicles and the dependence on oil. Money thus saved, can be invested in railways and buses.

On the other hand, if Sri Lanka has a more de-centralised development pattern that creates employment opportunities and higher quality infrastructure facilities such as schools and hospitals in the provinces, the traffic from and to Colombo and other urban centre could have been reduced.

Today, thousands of workers (office workers, factory works) commute to and from Colombo simply to find work as Sri Lanka has a highly centralized development pattern focused on Western Province.

For instance, if rural infrastructures such as schools, hospitals and public service have been developed, thousands of vans and buses that travel on a daily basis to urban centres can be drastically reduced. It is clear that apart from energy policy all other policies have a bearing on the energy situation.

It is a pity that some of the measures clearly spelled out in 1986 at the symposium mentioned above were not followed up.. The need of the hour is not to blame anybody but to think ahead of time and to prepare the country for the future.

Although the structures and the inherent faults in the systems are responsible for the situation, one can not totally the importance of human agency in dealing with the crisis. People should also be conscious of the situation and should act responsibly..

(Article is based on an interview with Prof. S.T Hettige)