Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal , New and Renewable Energy has called for building SAARC power grid so that excess production of power in one region can easily be used to meet deficit elsewhere .  Shri Goyal was addressing the inaugural session of the 5^th meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers here today. Earlier, Shri. Goyal was unanimously elected as a chairperson at the meeting .

In his augural address , Shri Goyal said “Rivers can flow only in one direction, but power can flow in the direction of our choice! I dream of a seamless SAARC power grid within the next few years. For example : Hydroelectric power generated in North East India could be transported via Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, on to Afghanistan or offshore wind projects could be set up in Sri Lanka’s coastal borders to power Pakistan or Nepal. The possibilities are limitless!”. Shri Goyal said this will not only strengthen the economic ties among the SAARC nations but also deepens the people to people relationship.

The Power Minister further stated that the economic sustainability of SAARC region is pillared on energy security as 30% of the region’s energy demands are met through imports. In order to resolve this, Shri Goyal advocated a three pronged strategy by leveraging (a) Harnessing conventional and renewable sources of energy (b) building inter-connected transmissions grids and forging efficacious power trading agreements.  SAARC is a robust market but constraints are primarily on the supply side as there are pockets where deficits persist, Shri Goyal said.

Highlighting the correlation between per-capita electricity consumption and Human Development Index ( HDI) , Shri Goyal said that the impact of electricity on human lives is profound ranging from healthcare to education to employment opportunities. The household per capita consumption of electricity within SAARC is mere 128 units versus global average of 3,045 units. Shri Goyal called upon all member countries to take this as a challenge and we all should commit overselves for pushing up household per capita consumption. For rapid progress and prosperity of the SAARC region , it is imperative that the power sector be expanded to ensure universal access to electricity in the region, Shri Goyal added.

Giving details of intra-SAARC linkages established in the recent past, Shri Goyal gave examples of 1450 MW exchange between India and Bhutan, 500 MW between India and Bangladesh and 150 MW between India and Nepal. He said more interconnections with high capacity are being planned and implemented. Shri Goyal urged the member countries to develop more such interconnections and offered the India’s  help to enhance production capacity so that member countries become exporters in the region.

 Shri Goyal said that SAARC has always played an important role in India’s foreign policy but the commitment was reaffirmed and revitalized after the formation of new Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He said “Our Government recognizes the enormous potential of SAARC nations and we believe SAARC can be regional economic powerhouse.”

Earlier , Mr Arjun  B. Thapa ,Secretary General of SAARC Secretariat  opened the meeting with his address. Apart from the host country India, Energy Ministers and senior officials from the SAARC member countries, viz, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are  participating in  the  meeting.

     Yesterday ,  during the senior officials of the SAARC  , member nations arrived at a consensus on Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation which has been pending since 2010. Shri Goyal complimented all the delegates for achieving this important milestone for enhancing cooperation in the energy sector.

Background:

South Asian   Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was created in 1985 with its Secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the Members of this Association.

The process of regional cooperation in energy sector began in January 2000 with the establishment of a Technical Committee on Energy.  Thereafter, recognizing that this vital area requires focused attention, the Council of Ministers approved the creation of a specialized Working Group on Energy in January 2004 to conduct a study on the concept of the South Asian Energy Ring and constituted Ministerial level Energy Forum through the Islamabad declaration of the 12^th SAARC Summit.

The First Meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers was held at Islamabad,  on 1 October 2005 which  decided the formation of an Expert Group to deliberate on the options and potential of energy conservation and energy efficiency measures and to formulate a road map for implementation in the SAARC region.  The Expert Group formulated a Road Map for implementation by the Member States. The second meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers was held on 7th March 2007 in New Delhi. The third meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers was held in Colombo on 29th January 2009.  The fourth meeting of the SAARC energy Ministers was held in Dhaka on 14-15 September 2011, Bangladesh.

Under SAARC energy cooperation, following Expert Groups have been constituted:

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