KATHMANDU: Experts of the energy sector have opined that thermal plants are not the ultimate solution to existing energy crisis in country.
Thermal plants will deepen the crisis of petroleum products and also increase the financial burden on the country‚ they said in a programme organised in the capital. Nepal is not an oil-producing country so it will not be feasible to produce energy through a thermal plant.
Former energy minister Gokarna Bista said that rather than resources consensus among major political parties is necessary to end the ongoing energy crisis. He stressed on the need to formulate a separate Energy Policy to seek long-term solution in the energy sector.
Unstable and ever changing policies in the energy regime are to blame for most of the problems including ‘commission’ prevailing in the energy sector‚ he added.
Hydro electricity is the most reliable and the cheapest means of energy in a country like Nepal‚ said former energy secretary Balananda Paudel‚ adding that the government should create an environment favourable to investment from the private sector. Government has yet to ensure fair competition in energy sector‚ he said‚ adding the private sector cannot invest in such a situation.
The government should put its effort to bring a hydro-plus-hydro policy rather than hydro-plus-thermal plant one‚ said director at Nepal Electricity Authority Sher Singh Bhat.
In the programme‚ executive director at Alternative Energy Promotion Center Govinda Pokharel said that the government should promote alternative energy to fulfill the energy demand of households. The government should encourage micro hydro projects along with solar power and biogas should be utilised as alternative sources of energy‚ he said.
Pokharel blamed the government for adopting an ad hoc policy in the energy sector. “The government should bring a clear policy to encourage alternative energy in the country‚” he said. Participants urged the government not to politicise the energy issue to end the problem of load-shedding.
Source : The Himalayan Times
