Punjab government is set to establish energy conservation department with a proposed huge fund of three billion rupees, as the dream of energy conservation is letting lose due to a shortage of Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) in Pakistan, said the industry sources. According to the sources, the consultation process on the idea has come to an end and the PC-one is under discussion with stakeholders at present.
It may be noted that Pakistan is losing huge megawatt electricity without break due to a dearth of required strength of consultants on energy conservation. In most of the cases, sources said, the available stock consists of one-man show with fragile credibility. Sources further said the consultants got disappear from the scene suddenly after signing contract and getting advanced payments. Resultantly, the idea of energy conservation seems to be an open-ended mission in Pakistan, sources added.
Meanwhile, international fund agencies including GIZ are also actively pursuing the industrial sectors in upgrading the energy staff of respective mills on how to conserve maximum energy during mill operations. The concept of energy audit is becoming popular in industrial circles fast and according to one estimate only the Punjab-based textile industry is able to save 300MW electricity through conservation measures. Similar is the case of other industrial sectors. However, there is no sufficient number of consultancy services on the subject.
The entry of government in this sector is equally a source of worry for industry, saying that huge allocation of proposed fund will be spent uselessly in the absence of a strict vigilance. Sources said the government should flourish the private sector expertise instead of bringing it to the public sector. The Punjab government has been proactive on this front, suggesting many ways and means to the consumers on energy conservation, including the supply of energy savers to replace them with tube lights.
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