Six Billion Rupees, Three Bureaucrats, One Government Department and No Electricity

Energy is the politics of today. What happens tomorrow is dictated by energy demand of today. Energy is the real blood pumping through the hearts of today’s economies. Just as a stoppage in the flow of blood would be fatal, a blockage in the flow of energy would devastate any economy.Movers and shakers of the world have realized that energy demands must be meant to keep the status-quo in status-quo. As a result associations and networks have established, over the last few decades, which not only keep the status-quo as status-quo but have learnt of devious ways to maximize their personal profits. These networks operate at all levels, international, national and regional. Here we are going to disclose the workings of such a network, which operated for a relatively short period – only four years – but left a terrible impact on the economy of Pakistan.The Alternative Energy Development BoardAlternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) was established in May 2003 with the main objective to facilitate, promote and encourage development of Renewable Energy in Pakistan with a mission to introduce Alternative/Renewable Energy at an accelerated rate to achieve 10% share of renewable energy in the energy mix of the country. Since its creation the Board has carried out following projects:Year – Project Funding (Rs. Million) – Project Title(2004) – ~10.00 – Research and Development of Bio-diesel Applications in Pakistan(2004) – ~5.0 – Fuel Cell Research Project(2004) – ~4.0 – Pilot Project for Development and Installation of 02 Micro Hydro Kaplan Turbines(2005) – 3.90 – Solar electrification at Narian Khorian(2005) – 100.00 – 100 Solar Homes projects in each province(2006) – 21.43 – Pilot Project of Production Plant of Bio Diesel(2006) – 39.80 – Solar Thermal Power Plants Technologies(2006) – 33.04 – Solar Water Pumping & Desalination Unit(2006) – ~3.0 – Development of an Electrical Vehicle(2006) – (cost unknown) – Socio-economic and technical feasibility for designing water supply schemes in villages of Balochistan and Sindh(2006) – (cost unknown) – Socio-economic survey of remote villages & their energy demands and water requirements(2006) – 4.03 – Research on Development of 1 KW Fuel Cell Vehicle(2006) – 3.00 – Development of supply chain mechanism for pedal generator, hand generator and led lanterns(2006) – 200.00 – Block allocation for i) Electrification of villages through installation of indigenously developed micro wind turbines ii) Research on development of 1 KW fuel cell rikshaw. iii) Erection and operation of pilot production plant for biodiesel with 500 liters per day capacity. iv) Assessment of wind/solar power potential and development of GIS for AEDB.(2006) – (cost unknown) – Feasibility Study for Development of a Master Plan for Establishment of an Institute for Renewable Energy Technology(2006) – (between 20 and 200) – Feasibility for waste energy plants in ten (10) cities of Pakistan(2006) – 50.35 – Solar Homes Program(2006) – 887.71 – Electrify 300 villages(2006) – (cost unknown) – Solar Home System for Province of Sindh, Solar Home System for Northern Balochistan, Solar Home System for Central Balochistan, Solar Home System for Southern Balochistan(2006) (cost unknown) – Supply of solar PV lantern system(2007) (cost unknown) – Baseline Capacity Assessment of PMD, AEDB, NEPRA(2007) – (cost unknown) – Study of grid integration with wind farms in Pakistan(2007) – (cost unknown) – Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the Gharo Corridor in PakistanTotal costs till the end of 2007: Rs. 1.5 billionAccording to the documents of Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan provided over 1.5 billion rupees in funds to the AEDB for carrying out a number of projects.Other than receiving funds from the Government of Pakistan, the AEDB has been funded numerous times by international donor agencies as well. For example the Asian Development Bank (ADB) offered a Technical Assistance (TA) project in 2004 for the development of Renewable Energy in Pakistan. The objective of the proposed Project Preparatory Technical Assistance (PPTA) was to assist the Government in designing a loan for financing investment in Renewable Energy. U.S. $ 550,000 were made available for the PPTA with U.S. $ 137,500 to be provided to each of the four provinces, while another U.S. $ 150,000 were made available for the Small Scale Technical Assistance (SSTA) for capacity building for carrying out Renewable Energy projects of all the four provinces involved with the TA. Some other mention-worthy projects funded by the international donor agencies till 2007 included:Year – Cost (US $ million) – Agency – Project Title(2004) – 0.55 – ADB – Renewable Energy Development(2005) – 510 – ADB – Renewable Energy Development Sector Investment Program(2007) – 0.8 – ADB – Pakistan: Renewable Energy Policy Formulation and Capacity Development of the Alternate Energy Development Board(2006/7) – 3.10 (GEF) + 0.72 (GoP) – Exploitation of Untapped Potential of Wind EnergyOf the 510 million dollars, ADB had provided nearly 150 million dollars by 2007.Thus, by the end of 2007, AEDB had been handed up to six billion rupees from Government of Pakistan and international donor agencies. As a result of all this funding, Pakistan produced a total of 0 megawatts of power through renewable resources at the end of 2007.Narian Khorian ProjectTo understand what happened to the six billion rupees in four rupees, the most publicized project of the AEDB, the Narian Khorian solar electrification is looked at. On 19 June 2005 Prime Minister of Pakistan Shoukat Aziz inaugurated the ceremony of electrification of the entire Narian Khorian village through solar panels. The village is nearly 40 kilometers from Islamabad.The project funding included solar panels. Also, each household was given an electric fan and bulb to be powered by the battery charged by solar panel. The village also got a free water desalination plant. The project of solar electrification and desalination plant was Rs. 3.9 million. As there is no paved road leading to the village, a new road was constructed from the motorway to the village. This project is considered a triumph of AEDB and has been mentioned numerous times by local and international media. To this day the local media beats the drums of this successful project and an illuminating example of effective leadership of Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid the chairman of AEDB.The Inside StoryAccording to Akhtar Solar company located in Islamabad, they donated the solar panels installed at the Narian Khorian village, worth Rs. 3 million, for which they got the tax rebate. Other than the 3.9 million rupees specific to the project, an unknown sum was taken from the # (2006) – 33.04 —- “Solar Water Pumping & Desalination Unit” project (cost 33.04 million) to help buy the water desalination plant at the Narian Khorian village. The road which was constructed from motorway to Narian Khorian village, which in books is a paved road costing millions does not exist today.Where the Money WentWhich company got the 3.9 million rupees contract to purchase the solar panels and install them at the village is difficult to find. Whichever company that was, the money surely wasn’t used to purchase the solar panels as they were donated by Akhtar Solar. There was also a part of the project money which was to be used for the desalination plant. However, money from another project was also used to purchase the same plant – in essence two projects funded the purchase of same equipment. The road was built by the Government of Punjab. Its cost was a few million rupees.The Village StoryThe person to greet any new arrival in the village is a young teenager, who is considered the spokesperson of the village regarding the solar project. Also, this boy was an employee of Government of Pakistan for a period of two years. He was hired at Rs. 2000/month with the job to oversee and monitor the project and make necessary repairs if needed. He was paid Rs. 500 in advance by a person named by him as “Irfan”, a mid height bearded fellow who used to come in a white corolla with green number plate. (The DG of AEDB is Irfan Afzal Mirza with same physical appearance and has been provided a government Toyota Corolla). According to the teenager, he never saw the fellow ever again nor did he see a single rupee more. He has no idea what happened to rest of his salary.The next notability is the missing solar panels from rooftops. Then, one is also brought to the desalination plant, where amazingly there is no desalination plant. Of the installed panels, only 30% are in working condition at the moment.Where the Equipment WentA year after the triumphant inauguration of the solar village, an official from AEDB in official AEDB truck arrived at the village and started loading solar panels in the truck. He also had a couple of mechanics who quickly unscrewed the desalination plant and loaded it into the Shehzor truck. When the local teenager tried to protest, he was quickly handed over to the local police station. The locals had to pay a small amount of money to get the boy out a couple of days later. Next time when the Shehzor came no one said a word. At the end, more than a million rupees worth of equipment was transferred by the AEDB officials using AEDB’s Government of Pakistan vehicles