Energy efficiency: Pakistan can conserve up to 1,100MW, says expert

German initiative helps industrialists adopt energy-efficient technology.

KARACHI:

Pakistan can save up to 1,100 megawatts of energy if its industries and households – the two main energy consuming sectors with a 74% share – try to change their behaviour about energy conservation, International Project Coordinator Espire Martin Straehle said.

Straehle was speaking at a workshop on “Energy efficiency for sustainable growth”, which was organised by Espire here on Thursday.

Project Espire – an initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via Sequa GmbH – has enabled industries to save up to 7% of their energy costs with investments that paid back in less than nine months.

Straehle said Espire had conducted energy audit of 67 factories in Pakistan while audit of 29 factories was under way. The factories were from Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot and together achieved energy savings of 28 million kilowatt hours (kwh) per annum, which corresponds to Rs92 million, he said.

This had been the average result of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from different sectors like textiles, automobiles and others since 2011 through energy saving measures implemented under the project, he added.

Project representatives said factory owners were initially hesitant to invest in energy conservation but the situation had completely changed in the last few years. “With rising energy costs and growing awareness of energy conservation, factory owners are now coming to us themselves, which is a very encouraging sign,” one said.

“To tap the huge energy saving potential, Pakistanis must understand that every single person can help the country during the current energy shortage by saving energy,” the representative said, adding switching off lights when leaving the room, using air conditioners on 25-26 degree and buying energy-efficient electric equipment were only a few examples.

They said there was a need to change the nation’s behaviour that could only be achieved through regular sharing of information on the subject through newspapers, internet and television.

Martin Straehle said there was more emphasis in Pakistan on costly long-term electricity generation projects to increase supply and in the meantime energy conservation through energy-efficient machinery and equipment could be a short-term economic solution.

For instance, factories in Karachi pay Rs12 to Rs18 per kwh and the implementation of Espire’s energy efficiency projects can save them one kwh with an average investment of only Rs2, which is six to nine times less than the purchase of the same amount of energy.

Project Espire was started by the Vocational Training and Development Centres of the Bavarian Employers’ Association (BFZ) GmbH – one of the largest private providers of vocational training in Germany.

The international division of BFZ conducts development cooperation projects on behalf of the World Bank, European Union and the German government in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In Pakistan, BFZ is collaborating with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) which is a strategic partner of the Espire project, providing match-making and technical services to the industry.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2014.

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