KEK Distribution Director in Uroševac Izet Rusiti said that electricity will be given to 15 regional villages, with Štrpce being excluded, however. “Electricity has been given to everyone but residents in Štrpce, which is the municipal headquarters, because the residents of Štrpce have not paid the lump sum of EUR 26 for 70 percent of households, as it was agreed on,†Rusiti said.
Posts Tagged ‘electricity’
Still no electricity in Å trpce
July 31st, 2009 |
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Residents of Å trpce and 16 other villages still have their electricity cut off, said reports from the municipality this morning. This comes despite the fact that the Kosovo electricity company KEK yesterday started collecting lump sums of EUR 26 per household.
K. Serbs expect to be reconnected
July 30th, 2009 |
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KFOR received on Wednesday from local Serbs the keys of the Å trpce substation, owned by Serbian power company EPS. They handed them over to the Kosovo company distributing electricity, KEK.
Still no deal over electricity in Å trpce
July 29th, 2009 |
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Serbs from Å trpce have failed to reach an agreement with the Kosovo Electric Corporation (KEK) for restoring the electricity, cut off since June 30. Although everything was prepared for the 12,000 Serbs and about 3,500 Albanians in this Kosovo municipality to finally be reconnected, KEK demanded to get full control of the administrative building along with the keys of the substation that belongs to Serbian state power company EPS.
Kenya to build £533m windfarm
July 27th, 2009 |
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With surging demand for power and blackouts common across the continent, Africa is looking to solar, wind and geothermal technologies to meet its energy needs
One of the hottest places in the world is set to become the site of Africa’s most ambitious venture in the battle against global warming.
Some 365 giant wind turbines are to be installed in desert around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya – used as a backdrop for the film The Constant Gardener – creating the biggest windfarm on the continent. When complete in 2012, the £533m project will have a capacity of 300MW, a quarter of Kenya’s current installed power and one of the highest proportions of wind energy to be fed in a national grid anywhere in the world.
Until now, only north African countries such as Morocco and Egypt have harnessed wind power for commercial purposes on any real scale on the continent. But projects are now beginning to bloom south of the Sahara as governments realise that harnessing the vast wind potential can efficiently meet a surging demand for electricity and ending blackouts.
Already Ethiopia has commissioned a £190m, 120MW farm in Tigray region, representing 15% of the current electricity capacity, and intends to build several more. Tanzania has announced plans to generate at least 100MW of power from two projects in the central Singida region, more than 10% of the country’s current supply. In March, South Africa, whose heavy reliance on coal makes its electricity the second most greenhouse-gas intensive in the world, became the first African country to announce a feed-in tariff for wind power, whereby customers generating electricity receive a cash payment for selling that power to the grid.
Kenya is trying to lead the way. Besides the Turkana project, which is being backed by the African Development Bank, private investors have proposed establishing a second windfarm near Naivasha, the well-known tourist town. And in the Ngong hills near Nairobi, the Maasai herders and elite long-distance athletes used to braving the frigid winds along the escarpment already have towering company: six 50m turbines from the Danish company Vestas that were erected last month and will add 5.1MW to the national grid from August. Another dozen turbines will be added at the site in the next few years.
Christopher Maende, an engineer from the state power company KenGen, which is running the Ngong farm and testing 14 other wind sites across the country, said local residents and herders were initially worried that noise from the turbines would scare the animals.
“Now they are coming to admire the beauty of these machines,” he said.
Kenya’s electricity is already very green by global standards. Nearly three-quarters of KenGen’s installed capacity comes from hydropower, and a further 11% from geothermal plants, which tap into the hot rocks a mile beneath the Rift Valley to release steam to power turbines.
Currently fewer than one-in-five Kenyans has access to electricity but demand is rising quickly, particularly in rural areas and from businesses. At the same time, increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and the destruction of key water catchment areas have affected hydroelectricity output. Low water levels caused the country’s largest hydropower dam to be shut down last month.
As a short-term measure KenGen is relying on imported fossil fuels, such as coal and diesel. But within five years the government wants to drastically reduce the reliance on hydro by adding 500MW of geothermal power and 800MW of wind energy to the grid.
Not only are they far greener options than coal or diesel, but the country’s favourable geology and meteorology make them cheaper alternatives over time. The possibility of selling carbon credits to companies in the industrialised world is an added financial advantage.
“Kenya’s natural fuel should come from the wind, hot underground rock and the sun, whose potential has barely even been considered,” said Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the United Nations Environment Programme. “After the initial capital costs this energy is free.”
The Dutch consortium behind the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project has leased 66,000 hectares of land on the eastern edge of the world’s largest permanent desert lake. The volcanic soil is scoured by hot winds that blow consistently year round through the channel between the Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands.
According to LTWP, which has an agreement to sell its electricity to the Kenya Power & Lighting Company, the average wind speed is 11metres per second, akin to “proven reserves” in the oil sector, said Carlo Van Wageningen, chairman of the company.
“We believe that this site is one of the best in the world for wind,” he said. If the project succeeds, the company estimates that there is the potential for the farm to generate a further 2,700MW of power, some of which could be exported.
First, however, there are huge logistical obstacles to overcome. The remote site of Loiyangalani is nearly 300 miles north of Nairobi. Transporting the turbines will require several thousand truck journeys, as well as the improvement of bridges and roads along the way. Security is also an issue as the region is known bandit country, and many locals are armed with AK-47 assault rifles.
LTWP also has to construct a 266-mile transmission line and several substations to connect the windfarm to the national grid. It has promised to provide electricity to the closest local towns, currently powered by generators.
The greening of Africa
At the end of 2008, Africa’s installed wind power capacity was only 593MW. But that is set to change fast. Egypt has declared plans to have 7,200MW of wind electricity by 2020, meeting 12% of the country’s energy needs. Morocco has a 15% target over the same period. South Africa and Kenya have not announced such long-term goals, but with power shortages and wind potential of up to 60,000MW and 30,000MW respectively, local projects are expected to boom. With the carbon credit market proving strong incentives for investment other types of renewable energy are also set to take off. Kenya is planning to quickly expanding its geothermal capacity, and neighbouring Rift Valley countries up to Djibouti are examining their own potential. As technology improves and costs fall, solar will also enter the mix. Germany has already publicised plans to develop a €400bn solar park in the Sahara.
“Ultimately for Africa solar is the answer, although [costs mean] we may still be decades away,” said Herman Oelsner, president of the African Wind Energy Association.
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Power politics
July 26th, 2009 |
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An agreement over one of the world’s largest hydro-electric dams signals a change in relations between Brazil and Paraguay, writes the BBC’s Andrea Machain.
Itaipu – the world’s largest dam in terms of energy generation – is owned equally by Brazil and Paraguay.
But ina deal signed by the nations’ presidentsafter months of tough negotiations, Paraguay’s sovereignty over it has been acknowledged.
The 31-point document, signed by Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva from Brazil and Fernando Lugo from Paraguay, was signed in Asuncion, Paraguay.
It concedes to Paraguay the possibility of selling its share of the electricity directly to the Brazilian market and triples Brazilian compensation payments for the use of its energy.
The deal is considered a significant victory for Paraguay’s government.
"The opening of the markets is key to Paraguay development and its energy-generating capacity," Carlos Mateo, Itaipu-Paraguay director, told the BBC.
The Itaipu power plant is built on the Parana river in the region known as the triple border.
"It is not convenient for Brazil to have a poor and powerless neighbour"
Carlos Mateo
Itaipu-Paraguay director
Inaugurated in 1984, its 20 generator units produce 14,000 megawatts of energy, 90% of which is used by Brazilian industries.
For many years, Paraguay complained about some unfair aspects of a treaty signed in 1973, when military governments ran both countries.
That treaty required Paraguay to sell its unused electricity to Brazil at a fixed price until the treaty expires in 2023.
In return, Brazil would pay Paraguay a lump sum in compensation which today amounts to $124 million a year.
"The deal was always considered unfair by Paraguayans, especially when you think that Paraguay and Brazil paid for the dam equally," says Itaipu Paraguayan council member Carlos Alberto Gonzalez, a respected lawyer and former ambassador to Brazil.
"Each of the countries invested $100 million initially and the rest of the money came from loans."
Growing debt
Many in Brazil feel that Paraguayan claims are out of place, particularly as they believe Brazil paid for the dam alone.
This is untrue, Mr Gonzalez says, because Brazil only acted as a guarantor for the initial loans used to build the dam, but these loans are being paid with funds generated by Itaipu energy sales.
Matters were made worse in 1985, when Paraguay agreed to Brazil’s request to sell Itaipu’s electricity below market prices in order to fight an economic crisis in Brazil.
During four years Itaipu lost $4 for each megawatt of the electricity it produced.
This continuous loss led to a debt that Paraguayan authorities deem illegal.
The main creditor for this debt is Electrobras, the state-owned Brazilian Electricity Company and main Itaipu electricity buyer.
This matter was not addressed in the most recent agreement.
In spite of industrial growth elsewhere in the region, in the last 25 years Paraguay has only increased its share in the use of Itaipu electricity from 2% to 10%.
The country also failed to attract significant investments for electro-intensive industries because of its old transmission lines.
"The lines are obsolete," says Carlos Mateo, Itaipu-Paraguay director.
"We lose about 40% of the electricity in transmission. About 25% is lost as a result of overload and 15% is stolen with illegal connections."
The new deal signed with Brazil also contemplates building a powerful 500-kilowatt line that will carry electricity to the capital.
"What we did today is a demonstration that both countries are 100% committed to discuss any issues that can improve the life of our people"
Brazilian President Lula
This line will be completed in the year 2012 and will be fully paid by Itaipu.
Many may wonder why Brazil changed its attitude towards Paraguay after so many years of denying the possibility of reviewing the original arrangements.
Personal loyalties
Some think it may have to do with President Lula’s personal sympathy towards former bishop Fernando Lugo, who won elections in Paraguay last year after 60 years of rule by the Colorado Party.
But it may also have to do with Brazil’s new concept of leadership in the region.
"Leadership comes with responsibility and Lula has incorporated Paraguay in his concept of social inclusion," says Mr Mateo.
"It is not convenient for Brazil to have a poor and powerless neighbour."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
SC withdraws stay on power tariff hike
July 23rd, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD – Cancelling its orders, issued on July 6, for staying the proposed increase in electricity prices, the Supreme Court of Pakistan allowed National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to work out a power tariffs formula as per the demands of electricity generation and distribution companies.
However, the apex court directed NEPRA to inform the court in advance in case it recommends increase in the electricity tariffs. The court also directed the Ministry of Water and Power and Ministry of Finance to inform the court about the proposed withdrawal of subsidy on electricity or increase in tariffs of the utility.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja heard the suo motto case, taken on pieces of news appeared in media, against the proposed increase in power tariffs despite reduction in oil prices in the international market.
Counsel for the electricity generation and distribution companies, Anwar Kamal, prayed to the court to allow NEPRA to work out power tariffs formula on the petitions submitted by the said companies. He said that the companies needed increase in tariffs to meet their revenue requirements and said that it was the government, which did not let people suffer from the hike in tariffs and subsidised the utility.
Counsel for NEPRA Ijaz stated that according to his knowledge, the government had decided not to withdraw subsidy on electricity for the time being. He said that as for as NEPRA was concerned, its duty was to make recommendations to the government on the basis of petitions filed by the electricity generation and distribution companies, while keeping in view their revenue requirements.
The Chief Justice remarked that the court did not intend to stop them from working out the formula for increase in electricity tariffs. However, it should be in accordance with rules, he observed.
The court then withdrew its July 6 order, which had stayed the proposed increase in power tariffs. But the court simultaneously directed NEPRA to inform the court in advance if it was going to recommend increase in electricity tariffs. The ministries of water and power and Finance were also directed to inform the court about the proposed withdrawal of the subsidy or increase in tariffs of electricity by next hearing in the case.
The court order also allowed the government to consider increase in electricity tariffs as per the recommendation of NEPRA but the same could not be passed on to the people unless allowed by the court, Anwar Kamal explained to TheNation.
The case was adjourned till date-in-office after three weeks.
Solar energy in Israel: It’s a knockout
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Two novel approaches to making electricity from sunlight
ISRAEL is a country with plenty of sunshine, lots of sand and quite a few clever physicists and chemists. Put these together—having first extracted the oxygen from the sand, to leave pure silicon—and you have the ingredients for an innovative solar-power industry. Shining sunlight onto silicon is the most direct way of turning it into electricity (the light knocks electrons free from the silicon atoms), but it is also the most expensive. The scientists are what you need to make the process cheaper. And that is what two small companies based in Jerusalem are trying, in different ways, to do.
The physicists and chemists at GreenSun Energy, led by Renata Reisfeld, think the way is to use less silicon. Traditional solar cells are made of thin sheets of the element covered by glass plates. In GreenSun’s cells, though, only the outer edges of the glass plates are covered by silicon, in the form of thin strips. The trick is to get the light falling on the glass to diffuse sideways to the edges, so that the silicon can turn it into electricity. Dr Reisfeld’s team do this by coating the glass with a combination of dyes and sprinkling it with nanoparticles of a metal whose nature they are not yet willing to disclose. …
Switched on
July 20th, 2009 |
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Veronica Psetizki
BBC Mundo, Suarez
This is not a typical town square in Uruguay.
The square, in the town of Suarez some 40km from the capital Montevideo, has gone over to solar energy and LED technology.
The aim is to reduce electricity costs and at the same time light more streets.
If it works, the plan could serve as a model for other towns across the country.
In the current economic crisis and upward pressure on electricity prices, it should be a way of reducing energy costs.
Energy savings
"The energy crisis will continue to get worse and city councils and the state will have to deal with that," Leonardo D’Andrea of the local town council explained to BBC Mundo.
TAKING THE PULSE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY- The BBC is Taking the Pulse of the Global Economy, looking at a range of subjects this summer
- Food prices – which remain a concern particularly in many developing economies
- Highly volatile energy prices – which have been a major issue in the past year
- The plight of migrant workers – as the global recession takes hold in many economies
- Housing markets – which have turned from boom to bust in many countries
- Rising unemployment levels – as firms cut back because of falling orders
"We decided to try out solar energy lamps in the town square and if it works, then we will apply it to all public lights in the town," he said.
"The lighting had been very unstable and a few years ago we installed sodium lights, which are more modern but use a lot of energy and are more polluting."
"Each lamp costs $30 a month (£18) and we know that with LED lamps we would save between 70% and 90% on energy costs."
Light emitting diodes (LED) are semi-conductors which give bright light but use very little energy.
They can be charged with solar energy as well as electricity and can give light for up to four days.
"These lamps are very expensive if you buy them from China, Taiwan or Japan," says Juan José Marchelli, director of Uruled, the local firm which proposed the experiment.
Locally made
This is why he decided to import the diodes but manufacture the bulbs locally.
"We recycled lamp posts which had fallen into disrepair."
"Instead of glass, we put in anti-vandal polycarbonate and we adapted lamps that were made in Uruguay."
"Then we introduced solar panels into the supports," he said.
The authorities are examining how cost-effective they are.
If they prove worthwhile they will buy equipment to make the lamps in Uruguay.
"The idea is to manufacture the lights in Uruguay and replace high energy lighting with these low energy ones. At the same time we’ll create jobs in the community," says Mr Marchelli.
Savings
Nicolas Vilaro, director-general of public works in Canelones said: "With electricity prices continuing to rise, we are trying to find alternatives, however small the scale."
The city council’s energy bill comes $400,000 and about 70% of that is for street lighting.
"For that reason we are keen to make even the smallest of energy savings so we can free up money for other projects," says Mr Vilaro.
"We are going to install some 20 columns with solar panels and energy accumulators to test out their efficiency," he says.
"Maybe in a few years’ time you won’t see single posts with a bulb – they’ll all have solar panels behind them."
Click here for more from BBC World Service on Taking the Pulse of the Global Economy
</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
“Power, gas, utilities prices won’t go up”
July 20th, 2009 |
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The government will not allow any rise in the prices of electricity, gas, food or utilities Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljević says. Medicines will also likely be on this list until the end of this year, he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Kosovo Serbs suffer due to power cuts
July 19th, 2009 |
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The situation in the municipality of Štrpce, where local Serbs have been left without electricity since July 11, is becoming increasingly difficult. Red Cross Secretary in the town Ivica Pužić told Tanjug news agency that power cuts have hit healthcare services the hardest, as well as food storage and IDP centers, housing 320 people.
Labour orders green energy revolution
July 16th, 2009 |
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Miliband takes control of power grid and lays out plan for low-carbon UK
The government seized control of key levers in the energy sector today in an attempt to kickstart a stalling “green energy” revolution and head off the threats of global warming and a rundown in North Sea oil.
Ministers plan to take over the allocation of electricity grid connections in order to favour renewable schemes, force the industry regulator, Ofgem, to tackle carbon pollution and pass laws to compel power companies to help poorer families meet rising energy bills.
The moves came as Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary, set out an ambitious road map for the UK to meet its legally binding target of a 34% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Measures range across homes, cars, business and farming, but clean electricity generation will deliver half the reduction.
Miliband said Britain would meet 40% of its electricity needs from wind, tidal and nuclear by the end of the next decade. The government’s overall plans believe 1.2m new green jobs will be created.
“Our plan will strengthen our energy security, it seeks to be fair to the most vulnerable, it seizes industrial opportunity and it rises to the moral challenge of climate change,” he said.
The government said £100bn had to be spent on energy projects and accepted that customers’ bills would have to rise to pay for much of it.
But Miliband said domestic energy saving initiatives should mean there would be no related hikes in utility bills until 2015 and by 2020 should mean on average 6% – £75 – a year on domestic bills. The decision to significantly strengthen government control of the planning and infrastructure of the energy markets in a bid to increase renewable power sixfold turns back some of the market-driven approach developed by Margaret Thatcher.
Lord Mandelson, business secretary, said: “We must combine the dynamism of the private sector with a strategic role for government to deliver the benefits of innovation, growth and job creation in the UK.”
The developments have delighted a clean energy sector frustrated by long delays to win access to the national electricity grid. “The renewables industry has had a tough time in the UK for many years and it has missed out on technologies where it should have led the world. What we heard … today shows a level of understanding and political leadership that suggests that may be about to change,” said Gaynor Hartnell, director of policy at the Renewable Energy Association.
Friends of the Earth also welcomed the moves. “Today’s announcements are a significant step towards the creation of a safe, clean and low-carbon future,” said Andy Atkins, executive director.
But some of the large power companies which want to build nuclear and coal plants as well as wind farms still felt the government was not doing enough. “The government has to give companies such as E.ON a market that also gives them confidence to build Britain’s low carbon future,” said Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, which is pushing to build a coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth but is also engaged in the world’s biggest wind farm, the London Array off the coast of Kent.
Ofgem denied it had been found wanting by the government. “We don’t see this as a kick in the teeth. We have been working under our existing powers to make changes to the grid access regime without much success. So [we] welcome the government stepping in,” said an Ofgem spokesman, who also said it was happy to take on a greener role.
Miliband said he was exercising reserve powers provided under the 2008 Energy Act for the government to intervene. He expects wind and other renewables to provide “over 30%” of the renewable power for electricity by 2020 but denied this was rowing back on a previous commitment to obtain 32%.
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Miliband outlines climate policies
July 15th, 2009 |
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Forty per cent of electricity will come from low carbon sources of renewables, nuclear and clean coal by the end of the next decade, says energy secretary
Tackling climate change will require “comprehensive changes” in the UK’s economy and society, energy secretary Ed Miliband said today as he unveiled plans to slash emissions from power, transport, agriculture and industry.
Laying out how the UK would meet its legally binding targets to cut emissions by 34% by 2020, he said 40% of electricity would come from low carbon sources including renewables, nuclear and clean coal by the end of the next decade.
Ministers were today publishing measures on how they propose to shift the UK to a low carbon economy, including a green transport strategy, energy efficiency measures and attempts to boost the number of environmental industry jobs.
Miliband told MPs that seven million homes would be given pay-as-you-save energy makeovers, with grants which would paid back through savings in energy bills.
And 1.5m households would be supported to produce their own clean energy through a “feed-in tariffs” system which will pay them for the electricity they generate, he said.
Ministers will also set out measures on low-carbon transport and for ensuring that the UK benefits from thousands of potential “green jobs” as they publish the UK low carbon transition plan white paper.
But the government has come under fire for the impact of increasing renewables in the energy mix could have on people’s fuel bills in the future.
The UK has committed to the world’s first legally binding “carbon budgets”, which require a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 34% by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050, and a EU target of meeting 15% of all energy needs from renewables by 2020.
Measures to meet the goals will cover a wide range of sectors including power, transport, homes, workplaces and agriculture.
Among the schemes to reduce climate emissions to be launched today will be a “pay as you save” programme for homeowners to receive loans to insulate their homes, with the money repaid from savings on energy bills.
And people who install small-scale renewables such as solar panels or wind turbines will be paid, through a “feed-in tariffs” programme, for the electricity they generate.
There are also plans to increase large-scale renewable energy and in particular wind — with proposals for some 4,000 new onshore turbines and a further 3,000 offshore.
The government’s consultation on renewable energy last year estimated meeting targets to increase green power could lead to a rise in fuel bills of almost £230 a year by the end of the next decade.
But officials say revised estimates will show the costs of a switch to green energy will be lower than that.
Ahead of the publication of a renewable energy strategy launched alongside the white paper today, the energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, warned there would be “upward pressures” on prices whatever the energy mix.
Miliband said today’s document set out a “route map” towards achieving the 2020 targets for CO2 cuts, which he said could generate 400,000 new “green” jobs by 2015.
He acknowledged that low-carbon energy would be more expensive for consumers, but pointed out that high-carbon fuels like coal and gas could also be expected to get more expensive because of increased demand from China and India.
He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “What we are trying to do is to set out not simply targets for 2020 – which have been set – but a route map to get there: How we are going to take the carbon dioxide out of the way we travel, our homes and the way we provide energy.”
Continuing on the high-carbon route would force the UK to import more fossil fuels, leaving the country exposed to oil price fluctuations and conflict elsewhere in the world, while there would also be costs in shifting to a low-carbon energy mix, he said.
The Tories accused ministers of failing to address the looming energy crunch over the past 12 years, leading to a “vacuum where there should have been an energy policy”.
Householders faced rising bills as the UK became increasingly reliant on costly imported gas, because it had one of the lowest renewable sectors in Europe and some of the least energy efficient buildings, shadow energy secretary Greg Clark warned.
“The scramble to catch up with the rest of Europe will now be more costly than if action to reduce reliance on oil and gas had been taken in a planned way over the last ten years,” he said.
Environmentalists remain concerned about the ambition of the white paper, which lays out how the UK will meet the targets for emissions cuts recommended by the Committe on Climate Change and made legally binding by the Climate Change Act.
While the committee, set up to advise ministers on cutting emissions, recommended almost entirely de-carbonising the electricity sector by 2030, green campaigners fear the government will not go nearly as far as that.
Alongside renewables, new nuclear build and new coal fired power stations – as long as a proportion of any new plant is fitted with technology to capture and permanently store carbon emissions – will form part of the energy mix in the future.
Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: “The government must prioritise renewable energy and energy efficiency over everything else in the sector. If they do this, Britain could lead the fight against climate change, whilst providing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Anything less would be a failure.
Other environmental campaigners said they were concerned that sufficient cuts would not be made in the UK, but “offset” by paying for reductions abroad.
One of the most controversial elements of plans to boost renewables in the UK are proposals for large-scale projects to harness the tidal power of the Severn estuary.
The government is expected to confirm a shortlist of five schemes for the Severn today, including proposals for multi-billion pound 10-mile barrage across the estuary.
As part of today’s announcement the government will also be publishing a transport carbon-reduction strategy.
The government has already announced several initiatives, including moves to make electric cars more affordable by providing help worth £2,000 to £5,000 towards buying the first electric and plug in hybrid cars when they hit the showrooms from 2011.
Last month the government announced eight new low-carbon vehicle projects were being launched with some of the schemes involving members of the public being invited to test out electric cars.
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‘Fatwa’ on electricity thieves in Pakistan
July 13th, 2009 |
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A power company in Pakistan has obtained a decree – or fatwa – from 12 senior Islamic scholars, declaring the theft of electricity a sin.
The Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) says the thieves are costing it 1bn rupees ($12.3m) a month.
People had to realise, it said, that stealing electricity was as illegal and immoral as any other form of theft.
Many people in Karachi either siphon power from overhead cables, or slow down their electricity meters.
The 12 scholars said that, according to Islamic Sharia law, unpermitted use of any commodity, and gaining benefit from it, was "sin, theft and usurpation".
Legal action against the thieves was fair, they said, and allowed under the teachings of Islam.
And they directed Muslims to pay back an amount equal to the power they had stolen.
The company already has the right to fine those caught stealing electricity.
Much of Pakistan is suffering power problems, caused by increases in demand, a lack of investment in infrastructure and the theft from the electricity grid.
Karachi, known as the "city of lights" has a population of about 16 million and is Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub.
Last Saturday, there were street protests after rain and high winds again brought power cuts.
And on 17 and 18 June, millions lost their electricity supply for hours due to what the KESC descibed as a "technical fault".
It left people without fans and air-conditioning in the summer heat, and brought industry to a halt.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Power completely cut off to Serb enclave
July 12th, 2009 |
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A Kosovo company distributing electricity has cut off the Serbs living in Sirnićka Župa region from the power grid at midnight. The households there were previously allowed to use the so-called humanitarian electricity, when they were reconnected daily from midnight until 7 o’clock in the morning.
Costly electricity
June 22nd, 2009 |
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Prospects for plug-in electrics and hybrids continue to provoke much discussion in the industry. Last week, we heard that Daimler’s electric Smart has been formally given the go-ahead to enter commercial production next year. The Smart Fortwo (sorry Daimler, but I have to capitalise brand and model names) is a curious one. It’s perhaps an example of a car that was ahead of its time. In the looks department, it is much more acceptable now than it was back in the late 1990s. And a plug-in electric version seems to make good sense.
But the batteries are not going to be cheap. And that’s a problem: who pays? Will the customer pay for that? The vehicle manufacturer? Will governments tinker with regulatory frameworks to encourage take-up? There seems to be a consensus in the industry that governments will have to play a part in helping electric cars develop significant market penetration. And, the argument goes, the government needs to do that as part of a broader energy policy that addresses overall CO2 generation, renewable power and economic or energy security issues. There’s a lot to consider.
At some point though, the consumer is going to be asked to make a contribution to the additional costs associated with a battery pack and electric drive. Early adopters at initial low volumes may be fine with that. The interesting thing though will be the speed with which plug-in electric vehicles can become cheaper on a cost-per-unit basis as volumes become bigger. It will be something of a chicken and egg situation – which is why the regulatory framework is particularly important in terms of the fossil fuel relativities.
But would you pay almost GBP400 (USD650) a month to lease a Smart with electric drive? That’s some premium to ask the customer to pay. How quickly can that sort of figure come down and to what extent will the government subsidise these vehicles? One point that should not be lost: in Britain the government takes plenty of tax from motorists at the petrol pump, way more than is required for investment in roads. And Her Majesty’s Government needs every penny it can get, even if politicians like the sound of a greener electric future.