Gas shortage crisis

Your lead editorial (Business Recorder, November 18) on the above subject be again focused on our energy scenario. We do not have fossil fuels to waste and the present "crisis" is only the result of lack of professional approach to solving the energy shortage problem.
It is common sense that if your water supply is limited, firstly you would use the existing water with care and then, utilise the "waste" water for multiple use. Karachites are all so familiar with this approach and many green patches and whole gardens are the result of use of treated waste water.
Why we can not do this for our precious natural gas ? It is only because the Government cannot make up it's mind whether we have abundance of gas supply or really, we do have a gas shortage "crisis".
In last few years, we have seen a total reversal of earlier gas policy which has allowed the use of our precious gas to every user, moreso to the least efficient! The decision to allow natural gas to world's least efficient KESC power plants at Bin Qasim takes the cake. It is impossible to understand how one can conserve energy if such power plants are allowed to waste 2/3rd energy to the environment.
The offer of gas supply to such power plants should have been on the condition that these plants will be "re-powered" to combined cycle in which case the original energy input (from our precious gas) would have produced 50 % more power without any extra gas.
This would have resulted in increased power supply and at much lower costs. We will surely see this happening if KESC is truly privatised and we have a genuine power plant developer.
Karachi's power shortage will only be solved by affordable power which is only possible if efficient power plants, consuming minimum energy (gas), are encouraged in real terms.
It has been discussed many times in the press, and in different seminars, that we need to look at the industries using major natural gas for generation of steam and hot water in a most inefficient manner.
It has been established that every industry (and there are hundreds of such industries around us) consuming an average 15 tons per hour steam, can generate about 3 MW power without any extra gas. If such power plants can be truly encouraged by proper incentives, can you not solve the power shortage problems by efficiently producing many hundreds of MW power right in the load centres here in Karachi, without asking for more gas and with no additional environmental pollution.
Are you really looking for solutions or just joining the band of interested influentials who are justifying colossal hydel projects at enormous costs to the people, both in terms of displacement from land and perpetual debt to the financing institutions?
History will judge us harshly for our wasteful ways.