1. 3RD ASIA ENERGY SECURITY SUMMIT
BANGKOK: FEB 28 – MAR 1, 2013
SAARC ENERGY RING
- A VISION TO PROMOTE ENERGY SECURITY IN SOUTH ASIA
HILAL A. RAZA
DIRECTOR
SAARC ENERGY CENTRE

2. ENERGY SITUATION OF SOUTH ASIA
 1.6 billion people
 500 million live below $1
per day poverty line
 All Countries of South Asia
 Oil importing
 Energy deficit (except
Bhutan)

3. ENERGY USE IN SOUTH ASIA
TOTAL ENERGY: 810 MTOE COMMERCIAL ENERGY: 606 MTOE
Coal
48%
Traditional Commercial
204 MTOE 606 MTOE 1% Nuclear
(25%) (75%)
7%
29%
15% Hydel
Oil
Natural gas
(MTOE - Million tonnes of oil equivalent)

4. ENERGY POVERTY OF SAARC REGION
14,000 12,914
12,000
10,000
8,000 7,051
6,592
6,000
4,000 3,536 3,614
2,803
2,206 2,391 1,695 2,631
2,000 1,243 1,788
514 517
0
Energy Use kgoe/capita/yr Electricity Use kWh/capita/yr

5. SAARC INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM
FOR ENERGY COOPERATION
 SAARC Summit of heads of States and
Government
 Ministerial Level Energy Forum
 Inter-Governmental Working Group on
Energy
 Expert Groups for different energy
commodities
 SAARC Energy Centre

6. SAARC ENERGY CENTRE
 Established in 2006 at Islamabad to initiate, promote
and facilitate cooperation in energy sector of SAARC
Member States for the benefit of all
 Funded by SAARC Member States and supervised by a
Governing Board comprising all Member States
 Professional staff selected on merit from Member States
 Expert services obtained through outsourcing
 International cooperation established with ADB, ASEAN,
UN, ESCAP, Japan, US, Germany.

7. SAARC ENERGY RING - SENERING
 SAARC ENERGY RING: a Vision given by SAARC
Leaders at the 2004 Islamabad Summit
 Vision translated into reality by SAARC Energy Centre
 Four Expert Groups engaged with way forward in:
o Oil and Gas
o Electricity
o Renewable Energy
o Technology Transfer (including Coal and Energy
Efficiency)

8. STUDIES ON SENERING
 SAARC Regional Energy Trade Study (SRETS)
identified four regional or sub-regional trade
options:
i. Power Market
ii. Petroleum Refinery
iii. LNG Terminal
iv. Power Plant
 A recent ADB funded study on South Asia
Regional Power Exchange has identified
various opportunities in electricity trade

9. DRAFT INTER-GOVERNMENTAL FRAMEWORK
AGREEMENT FOR COOPERATION IN ELECTRICITY
 Draft of a “SAARC Inter-Governmental Framework
Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity)”
endorsed by Energy Ministers Meeting in Dhaka
(15th September 2011) is under consideration of
SAARC Member States
 Draft IGFA provides to allow for:
o Unrestricted cross-border trade
o Commercial negotiation of PPAs
o Non-discriminatory open access
o Private sector trading
o Participation in power exchanges
 Ultimate objective is to create a SAARC Market for
Electricity: SAME

10. SENERING – 1. POWER GRID
• Nepal-India-Bhutan-
Bangladesh
• Pakistan-India-Nepal
• Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-
Afghanistan-Pakistan • India-Sri Lanka
• Tajikistan-Afghanistan
• Uzbekistan-Afghanistan • India-Bangladesh
• Turkmenistan-Afghanistan • India-Myanmar
• Iran-Afghanistan • India-Nepal
• Iran-Pakistan

11. SENERING – 2. GAS GRID
Qatar
Arabian Sea
• Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-
Pakistan-India
• Iran-Pakistan-India
• Myanmar-Bangladesh-India
• Qatar-Pakistan-India
Pipelines from the west can further be extended to Nepal and Bangladesh

12. RATIONALE FOR ENERGY SECURITY (1/3)
• Nepal and Bhutan together have over 100 GW of
high quality (long term) hydropower potential and
comparatively small local demand
• Bangladesh is reliant on gas for more than 80% of
its generation:
– Rapidly consuming its gas reserves and yet facing
serious power shortages
– Power demand in Bangladesh is expected to
triple over the next 10 years

13. RATIONALE FOR ENERGY SECURITY (2/3)
• Pakistan is facing serious power shortages between
4000 to 6000 MW at peak demand. Hydro is
seasonal, natural gas production is stagnant and oil
is expensive
• Sri Lankan power demand has exceeded the
capacity of its viable major hydropower
development options.
– It is embarking on thermal power projects that
run on imported coal

14. RATIONALE FOR ENERGY SECURITY (3/3)
• India has a serious balancing act to play between
growth, reliable power supply and emissions
– The next decade presents far greater challenges
particularly for provision of primary fuel
• Successful development of power exchanges in
India over the last three years has laid a strong
platform for cross-border power trade
• Transmission capability within India has improved
remarkably over the last decade through an
extensive expansion of the high voltage grid

15. PLANNED POWER GRID INTERCONNECTIONS
Interconnection Capacity Est. Cost Annual Benefit
(MW) (Million USD) (Million USD)
1 India-Bhutan 2,100 140-160 1840
2 India-Nepal 1,000 186 105
3 India-Sri Lanka 500 600 186
4 India-Bangladesh 500 192-250 145-389
5 India-Pakistan 250-500 50-150 335-491
6 CASA 1000 1,000 970 906

16. NEXT STEPS FOR SENERING
1. Detailed Scenario Analysis to identify Additional
Interconnection Opportunities
2. SAARC Electricity Transmission Master Plan
3. Market Rules to Accommodate Cross-border
Power Trade
4. Regulatory Regimes for Cross-border Power Trade

17. CONCLUDING REMARKS
 Upgrading interconnected grid(s) and
constructing additional interconnectors
between India and its neighbours will promote
realization of SAARC Energy Ring (SENERING)
and SAARC Market for Electricity (SAME)
 USD 1 billion investment will be needed for 4-5
priority interconnection projects in next 5 years
 Many other potential interconnection
possibilities exist within SAARC and beyond that
provide economic dividend

18. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

19. CURRENT PROJECTS OF SEC (1/5)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
1. SAARC Action Plan on Energy Conservation &
Efficiency
2. Gender-Energy nexus
3. Improved Cooking Stoves: “SAARC Chullah”
4. Energy efficiency in brick kilns
5. Capacity building of Energy Auditors

20. CURRENT PROJECTS OF SEC (2/5)
ENERGY TRADE
1. Study on energy trade and power
exchange
2. Study on harmonization of electricity laws
3. Study on energy pricing mechanism

21. CURRENT PROJECTS OF SEC (3/5)
BEST PRACTICES
1. Lessons learnt in renewable energy
technologies
2. Experience sharing of construction,
operation and maintenance of LNG
facilities
3. Power generation from lignite

22. CURRENT PROJECTS OF SEC (4/5)
POWER
1. Promoting hydropower development
2. Feasibility Study and workshop for regional
coal based power plant
3. Study on cogeneration in sugar and paper
industries
4. Study on rural electrification policies

23. CURRENT PROJECTS OF SEC (5/5)
ENERGY RESOURCES
1. SAARC Energy Data Bank
2. Geothermal energy potential of South Asia
3. Promoting extraction of non-conventional
gas