E-Kantipur

Some time ago, I was reading The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills by Paul Sloane. For the heads up, lateral thinking refers to the technique of problem solving using unconventional thinking techniques. It involves tackling the problem “laterally” rather than “head-on”. The book talked about challenging the conventional approach and describing new ways of thinking. In particular, this book described the concept of “lateral leaders” and how their ways changed their institutions as well as the world in some cases. Talking about a managerial tool in an article on energy may be baffling; but if we look at the energy sector of our country—the problems, promises and progress—most of us should realise that we need a new way of thinking if we are to deal with these three Ps.

Right now, load-shedding lasts 38 hours a week. The excuse for the blackouts this time is repair of both turbines of the Middle Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Project. Whatever may be the reason, it’s definite that there will be no respite from this problem for a few years to come—that’s if we begin doing something now. Two years ago, the government proposed a 36-point work plan for dealing with the energy crisis. Among the short, medium and long-term plans, there were schemes ranging from a door-to-door CFL campaign (buy one, get one free scheme) to commissioning 200 MW thermal plants and some hydropower projects. I don’t actually know how much of the work plan has been implemented, for I didn’t even get that free CFL bulb (the last time I asked, they said that the scheme had been implemented inside the Ring Road and we residing outside the ring road would get it “soon”). Over a year and a half later, I’ve neither gotten my CFL, nor has the load-shedding eased.

By now, most of us must have become familiar with the fact that the energy crisis in the country has been aggravated because the fact that our hydroelectricity plants are “run-of-the-river” type. In fact, all but one operational station are based on this concept. Also, the season with the highest demand for electricity is, incidentally, also the leanest flow season when the discharge in the rivers is the lowest. Therefore, what we need is a new storage project. The single storage project, Kulekhani, has been holding out to an extent till now. Although designed to be a “peaking station”, it has been working round the clock to cater to the energy demands of the nation. Therefore, there’s a stark need for another storage project.

Building a storage project is still a “head-on” approach to solving the energy crisis. However, if we think of “upgrading” our run-of-the-river projects to storage projects, the solution would be more efficient. That’s where the earlier mentioned lateral thinking techniques come into play. For example, if we construct a new storage project on the Kali Gandaki River, upstream of the existing 144 MW Kali Gandaki-A hydel project or on the Marsyangdi River upstream of the existing stations, which are currently run-of-the-river type and are operating at a very low capacity during the dry season; they would automatically be upgraded owing to the virtue of regulated flow from the new storage projects. All of this could be done with no investment or change whatsoever in the existing infrastructure. I suppose I’d have to leave it here, for the task of analysing the feasibility of such an idea and the issue of location and size of the new project is a task best preformed by experts.

There was an article in this newspaper that proposed constructing a storage project on the Burhi Gandaki (“Give me more,” Nov. 11). With the building of the Burhi Gandaki Storage Project, there will be sufficient regulated water downstream, and the Gandak Barrage at Balmikinagar will have sufficient water during the dry season. As per the provisions of the Gandak Agreement, Nepal cannot make any inter-basin transfer of water from the Gandak Basin without the consent of the Indian government. The sufficiency of water during the dry season could be a facilitator for any future inter-basin transfer projects in the Gandak Basin without affecting the sprit of the agreement and would benefit both Nepal and India. Whatever the proposition may be, the gist is that we need to come up with similar ideas if we are to address these chronic problems that have been holding our nation in a vice.

Time and again, we’ve been toying with new slogans for development of the country’s energy sector. Now that some progress is being made, and work is being done on some of the projects, let’s wish that we get to see all good in the days to come. Owing to the state of our economy, we need to come up with innovative ideas to reap the maximum benefits utilising our existing means and resources while being cost efficient. The proposals, like those made above, are just short-term solutions aimed at alleviating the energy crisis for a brief period. However, for the future, there’s only one certainty: One day or the other, we have to go big, or we’ll definitely be left behind.

(The author is a fourth-year student of electronics at Kathmandu Engineering College)

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