LAHORE: Neither the government nor majority of industrial players considered implementing cost-effective methods for reducing their energy consumption throughout the present government tenure, International Finance Corporation (IFC) preliminary study draft reveals.
IFC follow up study draft, available with Pakistan Today mentioned that 96 per cent of the recommendation included with quantified data on energy savings have been ignored by government and private sector alike, and only 4 per cent of the recommendations listed with the data on the investment cost and the related payback period were picked up.
To realise these benefits, however, government and regulators remained aloof to ensure that policies and laws are in place to support and provide the required infrastructure for the private sector to adopt energy-efficient measures, the draft mentioned that adding the data on energy and corresponding cost savings, as well as payback periods on investments, must have been gathered to help inform decision-makers and make the business case for investing in clean energy production.
The study found that manufacturers operating in four sectors of textile, sugar pulp, paper and leather implemented partial energy-saving recommendations. These industries could reduce more than 3.7 million MWh annually and could have saved more than $ 76 million in energy costs equivalent to 650 W installed power or about 25 per cent of the electricity required for the city of Karachi.
However, study draft shows a majority of firm managers had not understood the underlying strategic concepts and continuous aspects as to how to conduct audits and help their firms to structure and train employees. The study also found that very few manufacturers in each sector had implemented recommended energy saving techniques due to an array of barriers.
The recommendations would not only help the national economy but would have helped productivity, reduction in pollution, damage to the environment and would have also promoted Pakistan as a clean producer for manufactured goods, while increasing profits and competitiveness in the international market.
Designing high-quality, cost-effective reforms and implementing cleaner production techniques to reduce industrial energy, water and material use could also help to alleviate Pakistan’s crippling energy shortages, which cost the country up to 4 per cent of GDP annually in recent years according to some estimates.
Sugar producers could reduce their energy usage by 3.6 per cent annually by improving the energy efficiency of the drying process, installing more efficient boilers and motors, and other priority investments recommended in audits of 66 factories. However, despite the potential to earn quick returns on investments, most sugar producers included in the audits had not implemented the recommendations, the study found. For instance, fewer than 50 per cent of sugar manufacturers had improved the efficiency of motors, the drying process, and other hot processes. Less than 60 per cent had installed more efficient boilers. Only the installation of thermal insulation of steam lines and valves had a relatively high implementation rate of just over 80 per cent.
Textile mills could have saved more but the number of mills implementing energy-saving measures remains unknown while spinning mills could have saved $ 19 million and processing mills could save more than $ 40 million
Pakistan produces about 440,000 tons of paper products annually using mostly steam. By implementing top priority energy-saving measures recommended in the audits, the sector could save an estimated $ 1.3 million in electric costs. These included tuning boiler burners and improving air-to-fuel ratios, measures that would save 5.6 per cent of the sector’s collective energy bill.
The report mentioned that only 23 per cent of tanneries included in the audit had installed energy efficient lights and less than 40 per cent had taken measures to control compressed air leakage.
Other key recommendations, including improved metering, monitoring and installation of thermal insulation of steam lines and valves also had implementation rates below 40 per cent. The audits offered information on payback periods for only 3 of 16 top priority measures, thermal insulation of steam lines and valves, energy-efficient lighting and power factor improvement, at less than two years.
