EDITORIAL: The World Bank (WB) hasn’t exactly raised a red flag about shortcomings in the proposed draft Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) 2022, which has been prepared by the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA), but it has pointed out enough deficiencies to expose the utter inability of the power division to so much as frame policies and implement important projects properly. Judging by what WB has had to say to the NEECA managing director about the matter, it seems the draft is more academic than utilitarian in its breakdown.
And since this policy will most likely set the tone for EE&C developments in the country for at least the remainder of this decade, which means it is definitely going to influence relevant WB-funded projects, it is very important to get it right.
Otherwise, it will become just one more example of precious funding wasted because of sheer incompetence of various government departments, and yet another opportunity gone begging. That will also have a ripple effect on future funding, and conditions related to it, of course.
WB now wants the whole thing beefed up with specific, quantifiable targets pointing in a clearly defined, long-term direction. That’s not possible right now because of a number of reasons.
The proposed goal of the policy, for example, does not do justice to this opportunity of saving energy. WB feels it needs to be strengthened and proposed one based on energy intensity of GDP and set according to peer-country benchmarks.
The Bank also feels that the policy should have ‘targets for priority outcomes in terms of deliverables or energy saved’, which makes a lot of sense and it’s surprising that such things haven’t already been included; at least not in a way that satisfies the financier.
Apparently, there are no short-term timeframes in the draft, which means it is not a bunch of smaller initiatives working towards a larger whole. It seems more as if all the ingredients have just been thrown in with the hope that the stew will turn out just fine in the end. Yet these problems just scratch the surface and there are similar issues in all areas.
So much so that the Bank must’ve been surprised that the private sector has been left out. That’s why it’s recommended ‘prioritising private sector delivery by using scarce public sector resources to leverage a private sector response, and not looking to carry out activities that can be carried out by the private sector if the right incentives are in place’.
Actually, the main issue stretches far beyond EE&C or NEECA. The thing is that power division reforms cannot be put off any longer because continuing with this broken system only adds to the circular debt with every passing day. And going to International Financial Institutions (IFIs) for targeted, institutional funding without power sector reforms only amounts to putting the cart before the horse and wastes precious time and money.
That is why WB’s intervention, of sorts, should be one more eye-opener for the government. So far, it hasn’t scored too many points on the power front, despite all this time. Now things have reached the point where it has not only become very late in the day for the system, but also the ruling party considering how little time is left before the next general election.
EE&C is a very important policy because, once again, its success will dictate the depth and nature of our interaction with WB in the years ahead. It is also important because the power sector is in desperate need of help. Hopefully, the government will finally be able to put two and two together and get its carts and horses in order.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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