An increase in the demand for electricity, accompanied with the boom in global oil prices and the shortage of gas has led to an increase in energy crisis around the world.

But for all the headlines about oil prices and climate change, the most important energy story — indeed, the energy story of the last four decades – has been the growth in global coal demand.

Since 1973, no other form of energy has grown faster than coal. The IEA (International Energy Agency) expects that coal demand will continue growing through 2019 by more than 2 percent per year. Perhaps even more astounding is the IEA’s projection that by 2019 or so, on a BTU basis, global coal use will exceed global oil use. The vast majority of new coal demand is coming from developing countries that accounts for more than half of all global coal consumption

Recent energy forecast shows that coal is the most efficient and cheapest energy resource for power generation worldwide. After the Global Summit in 2005, which emphasized on more stringent environmental standards, low-sulphur coal started gaining popularity in all manufacturing industries.

High sulphur is harmful for the machinery and reduces its efficiency and useful life. It also increases its wear and tear and costs of depreciation and maintenance. Moreover, sulphur content is also dangerous for the environment and coal workers in the vicinity. High concentrations can result in breathing problems, along with other respiratory illnesses.

Since imported coal is washed and processed to remove impurities, it has the least sulphur component present.
Lucky Commodities imports RB1 South African coal, which consists of less than 1%  Why Lucky South African Coal sulphur content. It is not only efficient for the manufacturing plant, but also for the environment and coal workers.
The supply of low-sulphur coal provides an opportunity to meet the new environmental regulations and maintain a clean and pollution-free environment.

GAS SHORTAGE IN PAKISTAN

The energy crisis in Pakistan has been a major contributing factor for its slowed economic growth rate by negatively impacting the country’s already meager economy. Pakistan’s acute energy crisis has affected each segment of the society, ranging from textile to FMCGs and other manufacturing concerns. Gas reserves have decreased significantly, leading to a sharp decline in the share of gas in energy production from 52% in 2005 to 29% in 2014. The textile industry’s exports have declined significantly owing to the energy crises.

SOLUTION: SWITCH TO COAL?

The current situation of gas supply in Pakistan portrays a further fall in the manufacturing exports and also lesser foreign exchange earnings. The declining trend of natural gas in Pakistan will continue to further fall in the years ahead. As a consequence, many manufacturing industries are moving towards coal for steam and power generation. With the electricity shortage reaching to 7000 MW in the year 2014, a number of coal power plant projects have been initiated.

Being the cheapest commodity with the most consistent supply throughout the year, coal is gaining popularity amongst all industrial sectors in Pakistan. Act now and move towards coal to take advantage of the low coal pricing and consistent supplies.

Pakistan produces about 75 percent of its electricity through oil and gas which costs us about $10 billion annually. To put it in other terms, that is about 45 percent of our total exports and is the biggest cost on our import bill. Given that our reliance on thermal power is so large, we simply cannot dismantle it and magically move to hydro power, however we can change the fuel used to gain thermal power. Instead of using oil and gas, both of which are getting more expensive and have volatile international prices and supply, we can move to using coal as an alternative.

Using Coal is the  and most effective step for all Pakistani manufacturing companies to take for solving the current energy crisis.  If we were to import clean coal and use that as a fuel instead of oil and gas, it would cost us less as the price of coal is more stable than that of oil and gas in the international market. As a result, this can bring down our current electricity prices and also lower the energy cost for manufacturing concerns.