RECOGNISING the significance of the underground coal gasification process at Thar for developing indigenous energy sources, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has agreed to provide Rs900 million for the project.

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is a method of converting unworked coal — coal still in the ground — into a combustible gas which can be used for power generation. The UCG at present is not being extensively used commercially, but research is going on to make it commercially attractive.

However, the open pit mining of coal is the normal method being used, and most of the coal is being obtained in this manner. The UCG method is still in the research stage and if found suitable for Thar coal, it will be useful and economical.

Thar coal deposits are the largest resource discovered in the country which can provide the much-needed solution for generating large amount of electricity for many, many years at affordable price. The estimates indicate that 135 to 175 billion tons of lignite coal can be obtained from the deposit, which can produce thousands of megawatt of electricity for decades. Thar coal can be obtained by open cast mining as all over the world.

The open cast mining of Thar coal is the project which the nation has been keenly awaiting, but for some unknown reasons the work on it has still not started. A couple of months ago an article “Thar Coal and Energy Security” by Muhammad Younas Dagha was published in Dawn. Mr Dagha is the Secretary Coal and Energy Sindh. In the article he had stated that final arrangement had been completed by Global Mining Company of China for Block-1 and another by Sindh Engro Coal Mining for Block-II. The mining on these projects shall, as reported, start by June 2012. Are these dates still valid? The public is desperately waiting for the good news about electricity. The Planning Commission should immediately clarify their statement on Thar coal and inform the public about the real status on the start of the mining.

The real cause of the electricity crisis in the country is the faulty fuel mix as we are using the highly expensive furnace oil as the main fuel for generating electricity. The fuel cost to generate one Kwh through furnace is about Rs17 — 18. This does not include the fixed charges for the plant, transmission and distribution costs and losses etc.

Since the government cannot afford to buy oil at this high rate, several thermal power plants have either been closed or are producing much below their capacity. A news item recently indicated that monthly furnace oil requirement for power plants stood at 32,000 tons but only 10,000 tons were being imported. Obviously the generation is accordingly low. The natural gas is another fuel which is being used but it is in short supply and very little is available for electricity generation.

Only one-third of the imported fuel would be required if the fuel mix is changed from oil. Globally about 21,000 Twh of electricity is consumed per year, 41 per cent of this electricity is generated through coal. China generates 78 per cent of its electricity through coal, India 68 per cent, US 48 per cent but Pakistan only 0.1 per cent. The world does not use oil for electricity, as less than five per cent of the world electricity is generated through oil, but Pakistan is using oil for 40 per cent of its electricity, which obviously it cannot afford.

It is time that we wake up to these realities, and concentrate on mining Thar coal and start generating electricity through this indigenous resource. Obtaining natural gas through fracturing of underground Shale rocks is big news these days. US is leading in this technology, while China is following very fast. If Pakistan has any plan for expanding its natural gas production; no information has been passed on to the public.

Amjad Agha is the President of Associated Consulting Engineers.