Workshop on 'Energy Security and Regional Electricity Cooperation in South Asia'

TERI and World Bank Research Department (WBRD) organized a half-day workshop on 11 August 2014 at TERI University to provide feedback on World Bank's ongoing project, 'Improving South Asia Energy Security through Electricity Cooperation'. The objective of this workshop was to inform various stakeholders about the preliminary results of the study carried out by WBRD and to receive their expert opinion on related issues and on the study. The workshop was attended by experts from various organizations including Central Board of Irrigation and Power, Observer Research Foundation, Australian High Commission, SARI/EI, USAID, IRADE, Indian Power Exchange, World Bank-India, RIS, CUTS, AF-Mercados, TERI and TERI University.

Mr K Ramanathan (TERI) welcomed the participants and talked briefly on the relevance of the topic in the emerging power scenario. Mr Mike Toman (World Bank) outlined the scope, objectives and design of their ongoing project. This was followed by three presentations. Mr Jorge Karacsonyi, Consultant, AF-Mercados presented the methodology for modeling different degrees of interconnection between electricity grids. He detailed out the least cost planning approach and the ORDENA model used in the study. Following the methodology, Mr Govinda Timilsina, Senior Economist, WBRD presented the preliminary results of the study obtained so far. Such electricity cooperation, according to the study is expected to lead to reduced supply costs due to cheaper imports (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan), increased net revenues from increased exports (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal) and access to market for trading temporary power surpluses (India and Pakistan) along with reduction in CO2 emissions and other economic & social benefits. Mr Mike Toman, Manager, WBRD presented the institutional, policy and political economy analysis carried out for increasing South Asia Regional Electricity Cooperation.This was followed by discussions on the findings and the results moderated by Mr K Ramanathan and Dr Prabir Sen Gupta, Distinguished Fellows from TERI. WBRD received various useful comments and suggestions from the experts present. Concluding the workshop, Mr Ashish Khanna, Lead Energy Specialist, World Bank stressed upon the possible role of private players in such regional cooperation and how showcasing benefits at micro level could be the starting point to showcase incentives for institutional reforms. He also mentioned that 'opening of minds' is necessary for realisation of the projected benefits and the World Bank is keen to provide any possible facilitation support to establish these benefits.