Muhammad Mudassar

With the power crunch reaching a new high, affecting almost every sector of economy and seriously disturbing the domestic life, the federal government has decided to implement an energy conservation plan, which include measures such as closing the markets at 7pm and launching an awareness campaign and a host of other initiatives, reports WealthPK.

The plan also includes a hybrid working model under which there will be four days of working at the office and one day at home. This model will help the country conserve approximately $1.5 billion per annum.

According to a policy draft made in consultation with the National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (NEECA), commercial markets will close at 7pm except pharmacies and grocery stores. This will help save 2,848 million units of electricity worth $282 million. Through alternate switching of streetlights, the country will be able to save 192 million units per annum, which is estimated to be worth $19 million a year.

The country will be able to save 30,000 TOE of energy if incandescent bulbs are banned and replaced with energy savers or LEDs. This measure will help save $36 million annually. However, it requires an investment of $2.54 million for implementation.

Solarization of public offices will help conserve an estimated 1,000MW electricity worth $148 million annually.

According to NEECA, approximately 0.8 million children attend elite schools using solo cars on a daily basis. The average daily mileage per student is 15 kilometers, and the specific fuel consumption per car is 12km per liter. There will be a mandatory reduction in the number of cars by 40 percent. This means that 88 liters of fuel per year per car will be saved, which translates to $87 million in annual savings.

Under the medium-term measures, the government is considering proposals to replace the existing fans with more efficient ones. In this regard, two different scenarios are being discussed at the moment. The first scenario is to replace 50% of the existing stocks (20 million units). As a result, 2,400MW electricity worth $960 million will be conserved. Under the second scenario, all existing stocks (40 million) will be replaced 100 percent, which will help save 4,800MW electricity and $1.920 billion in financial terms. An investment of $0.6 billion and $1.920 billion will be required respectively in the first and the second scenario.

Approximately, 528 million liters of fuel worth $519m is estimated to be saved by electric vehicles (30 percent by 2030), while 219 million liters of petrol is estimated to be saved by electric bikes, the cost of which is $290 million.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk