petroleum products for power. Of course, other forms of heat and power are
sometimes required by some industries require, but generally speaking, however,
electricity is fast becoming the versatile source.
Power supply is influenced by the country’s physical endowments (gas, water,
coal, oil, etc). If there is a shortage of power resources in one region, it may be
possible to mitigate the lack thereof from other regions; however, if the country,
itself, does not have such resources, importing resources (such as oil, gas, or coal) to
produce power will definitely affect the country’s planning (both national and
regional).
The planning, or more specifically the programming, of power development
should take place before any development at all in other sectors, is considered.
Industrial development can only take place after the necessary and relevant power
supplies are made available. No firm or industry investor, whether private or public
would be convinced by vague promises about power being made available. The
business investor may consider investing in his own power source or generator (see
also Chap. 9 on Reliability), because he cannot have an undue dependence on
outside or national sources unless he is given a firm guarantee of what kind of
infrastructure will be available and when.
The distance between the power source and the point of use influences the cost of
power at that particular point. The cost of transmitting power was formerly so huge
that the power source and the point of use needed to be practically identical.
However, since electricity has been widely available, the equation has changed,
given that electricity can be cheaply transmitted and the transmission costs are often
negligible compared to other parameters.
As energy consumption depends on population growth and economic development, the energy policy of the country must consider the following issues:
1. Transport infrastructure depends on fuels for transport (petrol, diesel and electricity), which should be available at competitive prices.
2. Reasonable prices for electricity, and clean cooking fuels for households. Their
needs for an affordable and adequate supply are growing. This will help avoiding
indoor air pollution and collecting fuel wood.
3. The demand for fossil fuels, compared to import requirements of gas, crude oil,
and petroleum products.
4. Adopting clean fuels and clean technologies will entail positive environmental
impacts (indoor, urban and regional).
5. Social costs of different fuels as reflected by prices, subsidies, taxes and transportation costs of each.
Unfortunately, the above considerations are usually conflicting, thus requiring
trade-offs. The different sectors: agriculture, business, households, industry, transport have increasing demands, which present a challenge to satisfy, solely, by cheap
and clean electricity.
Some governments try to provide a convenient lifeline water supply to the poor,
going to the extent of providing it for free. Is it possible to do the same thing for
12
1 Introduction to Infrastructure
sometimes required by some industries require, but generally speaking, however,
electricity is fast becoming the versatile source.
Power supply is influenced by the country’s physical endowments (gas, water,
coal, oil, etc). If there is a shortage of power resources in one region, it may be
possible to mitigate the lack thereof from other regions; however, if the country,
itself, does not have such resources, importing resources (such as oil, gas, or coal) to
produce power will definitely affect the country’s planning (both national and
regional).
The planning, or more specifically the programming, of power development
should take place before any development at all in other sectors, is considered.
Industrial development can only take place after the necessary and relevant power
supplies are made available. No firm or industry investor, whether private or public
would be convinced by vague promises about power being made available. The
business investor may consider investing in his own power source or generator (see
also Chap. 9 on Reliability), because he cannot have an undue dependence on
outside or national sources unless he is given a firm guarantee of what kind of
infrastructure will be available and when.
The distance between the power source and the point of use influences the cost of
power at that particular point. The cost of transmitting power was formerly so huge
that the power source and the point of use needed to be practically identical.
However, since electricity has been widely available, the equation has changed,
given that electricity can be cheaply transmitted and the transmission costs are often
negligible compared to other parameters.
As energy consumption depends on population growth and economic development, the energy policy of the country must consider the following issues:
1. Transport infrastructure depends on fuels for transport (petrol, diesel and electricity), which should be available at competitive prices.
2. Reasonable prices for electricity, and clean cooking fuels for households. Their
needs for an affordable and adequate supply are growing. This will help avoiding
indoor air pollution and collecting fuel wood.
3. The demand for fossil fuels, compared to import requirements of gas, crude oil,
and petroleum products.
4. Adopting clean fuels and clean technologies will entail positive environmental
impacts (indoor, urban and regional).
5. Social costs of different fuels as reflected by prices, subsidies, taxes and transportation costs of each.
Unfortunately, the above considerations are usually conflicting, thus requiring
trade-offs. The different sectors: agriculture, business, households, industry, transport have increasing demands, which present a challenge to satisfy, solely, by cheap
and clean electricity.
Some governments try to provide a convenient lifeline water supply to the poor,
going to the extent of providing it for free. Is it possible to do the same thing for
12
1 Introduction to Infrastructure