By Gerald Pde
Summer is here! In some countries it is a festive time were people are enjoying the outdoors, and in some it is indoors away from the brutal sun. For us in Meghalaya, it’s praying time, for a good monsoon rain. One might think we are all farmers as farmers pray for rain to water their crops but in Meghalaya, we pray for rain to water the Umiam lake- our farm in other words. We all know too well about the dearth of energy in our state and all winter we have been preparing ourselves by withstanding the four to five hour load shedding at night. Well except on those lucky days when we get high-level visitors, we could burn a little more midnight oil. Now that summer is here, did any of that ‘conservation of energy’ in winter work? After the countless hours of load shedding that the whole population of Shillong had to endure, one might have thought the electrical department had a ‘plan’. To see if this plan worked, you should visit Umiam Lake now, only to see that the lake has fallen to such low levels that the old highway underwater for decades emerged in pristine condition! Maybe we should submerge the rest of our dwindling highways for 50 years and see if that works in making them robust enough for the coal trucks. In short, it didn’t work because of the simple fact that we are utilizing far more energy than what is being produced – it’s one of those supply and demand things. And what’s being produced is in the mercy of ‘Lei Slap’ or Goddess of Rain, hence we must pray.
I wrote a Letter to the Editor in this paper a few years back about securing Meghalaya’s energy future and I feel that the issue is even more relevant now. But to reiterate, we need a reliable energy supply to drive our economy and ensure our security, and this has to be met by the energy we generate and the net energy we buy from other states. But most of our understanding is limited to generating energy because that is simple, run turbines and they will generate energy, we also need to start putting policies to Reduce and Conserve energy. If we reduce and conserve, we can have a lesser amount of energy to generate to meet our current needs.
One might say, ‘Oh no, yet another policy we cannot adhere too!’ But really, don’t you think this is an important one? Energy means a small business owner like me not having to suffer because the computers don’t have juice. Energy means, being able to feel secured at night and not having to bear those blackouts, which is a breeding ground for criminals. Energy means being able to rope in investors and enhance our economy. Isn’t that development? For most countries, energy is a matter of National Security. Wars are being fought and lives are being sacrificed to secure a country’s energy future. The sacrifice in our state is by the public having to endure long periods of no electricity- but one thing is for sure, our battle is far from won.
Reduce, Conserve and Generate. Reduce means to inherently lower our energy intake through planning policies and good design. If our buildings and industries use lower operational energy by 30%, we will have to produce 30% less on a given day. Green design and sustainability are tools that we currently have that can do just that. Conserving means educating the public to use less energy. For example replacing all light bulbs with compact florescent bulbs- if every household in Shillong replaces their current light bulbs, we can reduce our lighting energy consumption by 70% because that is the inefficiency of using an outdated technology. Once these initial steps have been taken care off, we will realize that maybe we do have enough generation capacity in our power plants to avoid blackouts. If the planning department can have bylaws for building structural systems, why can’t it have bylaws on energy use and give incentives to owners for designing low energy building? Isn’t energy also as important as a building’s structural integrity? It is being done in a number of countries including some departments in India.
Renewable energy is another sticky issue, which we tend to avoid. But now with technological advancements in renewable energy, why isn’t the Meghalaya Energy Corporation doing anything about producing energy through renewables like solar or wind energy? These technologies are much better now than 20 years back. They can be installed very quickly and the prices for these systems have come down dramatically. We inherently have a great monsoon front so why can’t that wind be harnessed to produce energy in winter when there is less chance for rain? Japan just went nuclear free after the Fukushima disaster where their energy capacity was cut by 30 % when all the nuclear reactors were turned off, yet they are still producing and thriving.
Obviously there are many variables but one has to ask these questions. We all understand that there are ground realities that one has to deal with, but with issues as big as these, we have to force ourselves to think outside the box. Some solutions are pragmatic but some must be radical. That’s the only way we can overcome our obstacles and move ahead. A few issues that comes to mind and to summarize are:
The Meghalaya Energy Corporation needs to look at diversifying the energy source and incorporate solar and wind energy into the energy mix. We rely too heavily on one energy source that is hydro.
Incentives should be given to homeowners who install renewable energy system as it ultimately offsets the total energy generated.
The planning department should phase out incandescent lighting and educate the public to use energy- efficient lighting such as CFLs.
The Meghalaya Urban Development should start incorporating energy efficiency and green design into the bylaws. Building area incentives should be given to buildings that meet national green building standards such as the Indian Green Building Rating System or TERI GRIHA system for example.
We should have a better system of public lighting that does not turn off even if there is large scale load shedding as it hampers the city’s security.
Big industries tapping into the main grid should be heavily taxed as they create a major strain to the public’s energy needs. They should fund renewable energy projects such as rural electrification and actively support programs such as reforestation, water treatment, and sewage disposal and so on.
Finally, the government should start a major public campaign to reduce energy, conserve water, tackle waste, and protect our environment. They are all connected.