Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak, Minister for Energy, Government of the Punjab has said that we all have to emphasize on awareness of importance of energy and in this regard all the stakeholders connected with energy sector should perform proactive role. He expressed these views while chairing a meeting in Punjab Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency (PEECA) on Thursday at its head office located in Gulberg III, Lahore. secretary Energy Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti along with the senior management of PEECA were present in the meeting. Managing Director Abdur Rahman provided an overview of PEECA which was established under the administrative control of the Energy Department in late 2015 to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of energy. He highlighted the importance of energy efficiency as critical in addressing the energy crisis which is also endorsed by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Some of the core activities undertaken by PEECA include standardization and labelling of appliances; modifying energy conservation building codes for the province of Punjab; solarisation and retrofitting of DHQ hospitals under Punjab Green Development Program (PGDP) funded by the World Bank; solarisation under ADP schemes; creating a market for Solarization on ESCO Model and conducting awareness campaigns,he briefed. He further briefed that PEECA has been instrumental in successfully standardizing fans and was awarded by World Bank for its efforts. These standards are now included in the MRS list of the Finance Department which makes the makes the purchase of energy efficient fans mandatory in all public procurement. Standardization of fans alone has resulted in 30 MW of energy savings. PEECA has also established an Air Conditioning testing laboratory in CERAD, UET- Kala Shah Kaku Campus which is the first of its kind in the public sector. Standards for other appliances such as LED lights, motor and pumps, refrigerators are in the pipeline. Sustainable buildings are the need of the hour therefore, PEECA highlighted how it modified the Energy Conservation Building Code existing at the federal level according to the climatic conditions of Punjab. The code is ready for implementation and shall be applicable on all buildings having a covered area of 1200 sq feet or above and shall be inserted in the bye-laws of all development authorities. It is estimated that 30 % of energy savings can be achieved through ECBC measures. In ADP Schemes, Solarization of Public Colleges (21), Sports facilities (10), Darbars (03), Shelter Homes & Darul Amaans (32), Model Children Homes (12), and District Jails (03) as well as Pilot Project for Installation of Energy Safety and Saving, Equipment (ESS) in Punjab (04) and Feasibility Study for Actualization & Implementation of Electric Vehicle Policy in Punjab undertaken by PEECA were also discussed. The Managing Director in particular brought attention to the limited resources of the Government and how solarisation of autonomous bodies on an ESCO model could in turn, assist the Government in benefitting from the efficiency of the private sector whilst incurring zero upfront cost. PEECA undertook a pilot project of Solarizing UET, Lahore on an ESCO Model which resulted in substantive energy savings with corresponding financial savings. Lastly, the Managing Director drew attention to the various awareness campaigns that PEECA undertook especially since energy efficiency is still a nascent area in Pakistan. Through its workshops and seminars, PEECA engaged in capacity building of 2,600 professionals. PEECA also developed curriculum for Classes 3-12 and carried out a School Outreach Program across Punjab targeting 1,080 schools and a total of 91,000 studentsThrough the implementation of the PEECA program to date, approximately 30 MW and 13. 23 GWh of energy savings have been achieved with corresponding financial savings of PKR 6.344 million. The Minister appreciated the efforts of PEECA especially in light of the prevailing energy crisis and encouraged all team members to continue to work diligently in order to steer the country towards prosperity. Manager Legal Marium Khalid, Manager Finance Sohail Akhtar, Assistant Manager Program Waqas Ali Khan and Assistant Manager Procurement Saad Masood were present in the meeting.
