Members of the Economic Co-operation Organisation (ECO) have agreed to establish and maintain a "common database" of their power system, besides a strong regulatory regime to deal with the issues regarding tariff and disputes in energy trade.
"We have discussed the role of private sector in developing electricity sector in the ECO member countries, export of surplus electricity from the Central Asian States during summer, investment projects in several hydropower plants in Tajikistan (Sangtuda I and II, Rogun), associated transmission and strengthening and information sharing among the member countries," an official told Business Recorder who attended the conference of energy officials held on June 29-30 in Tehran under the umbrella of World Bank (WB).
A World Bank team is expected to reach Islamabad on July 25 for further deliberations on the issue.
The participants of the conference were of the opinion that analysis be conducted on short- and long-term trading opportunities in the ECO region, including analysis of daily and seasonal demand patterns and identification of short-term trading opportunities, preparation of 20-year electricity demand forecasts, assessment of the primary energy resources and existing generation, the official added.
Eight working groups have been constituted to work out the performance standards, tariff rates and maintenance schedule, the official said.
In addition, experts from Pakistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan are meeting soon to finalise interconnection modalities through electricity trade.
According to the official, Pakistan did not agree with the World Bank's proposal in which it was suggested that electricity from Tajikistan to Pakistan should be imported via Kabul. Pakistan said that it should be connected with Tajikistan through the Wakhan, an area of Afghanistan where Tajik people are in majority and there is no law and order problem and electricity could be imported smoothly without any security risk.
To a question, the official said that the ECO member countries would also trade electricity on barter system along with direct purchasing, which include peak and off peak hours requirement of electricity.
Pakistan will import electricity from Iran or Tajikistan during off peak and peak hours to meet the load requirements. Similarly, Pakistan will also export electricity to Iran and Afghanistan in country's off peak hours and in this way the barter system would be maintained.
However, some countries would purchase electricity in case of shortage of power and this would be arranged through common grid stations. National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) has been given the task to identify the location in the ECO region for Common Grid Stations (CGS) through which all the member countries would be interconnected. The official said that the proposals and recommendations for integrated electricity trade system would be placed in a high-level meeting of ECO foreign ministers and heads of the states for final approval.
At present, Turkey and Iran, and Pakistan and Iran, are trading electricity. Pakistan is planning to export its electricity to Afghanistan and some border areas of Iran. Pakistan was already importing about 40MW electricity from Iran and is planning to export 40-50MW electricity to two Afghan provinces, Kandahar and Khost.
The official said it was anticipated that the analytical work would be completed in next 18-24 months with donors funding and involvement of specialised consultants.
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