Publications

Rural electrification is another aspect of development in this region. The member countries bought massive development in the life of rural people through rural electrification. The commendable achievements of the member countries and how to be further benefitted is shown in this publication. It will benefit the member countries to learn and follow the achievements of the success stories of the other member countries. Rural electrification is also a requirement for food security of any country in the region. The success stories are based on the fact “what is the cost of not providing electricity vs. cost of providing the same”.

Import dependence for energy supplies in the Member States varies between 25% in case of Bhutan to 100% in case of Maldives [1]. With accelerated economic development, the energy consumption is increasing rapidly with resultant increase in further import dependence. Inefficient use of energy to support such economic growth further compounds the rate of growth in energy use with consequent environment degradation. Member States, therefore, need to prioritize energy efficiency to become competitive in the global market besides getting environmental dividends.

The draft SAARC Action Plan on Energy Conservation was accordingly prepared by SEC. The Plan also included the elements of SAARC Road Map on Energy Efficiency & Energy Conservation, recommendations of SAARC Working Group on Energy and various other valid suggestions made at several energy forms held in the region.

Keeping in view the above, SAARC Energy Center, Islamabad has been working towards achieving optimal energy efficiency. In this context, SEC launched a short term study for assessing energy efficiency potential through energy audit of Power Transmission and Distribution Grid Stations of Pakistan, which like other SAARC Member States is also an energy deficit country. For this purpose, services of Engr. Sohail Mumtaz Bajwa were engaged as a short term consultant. He was assigned a task to conduct energy audit of two grid stations, one from National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and one from Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO).

The concept of Power Sector Reforms was first introduced in South Asia during early nineties with the objective to provide reliable quality power at affordable rates to consumers of all categories and to improve the commercial viability of the power sector as a whole. SAARC Member States such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have already undergone regulatory changes transforming the vertical power utilities into restructured power entities i.e. Generation, Transmission and Distribution. However, some Member States such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal have not implemented the Power Sector Reforms so far. SAARC Energy Centre, through its Activity Plan for the FY 2014, conceptualized a program activity for the Power Transmission Utilities in the SAARC Region on Monitoring and Managing Regulatory Compliance

The major focus of this short term research activity was to provide a managing and monitoring tool both for the Regulator and Utility. In the perspective of the best utility practices, emphasis should be on Transmission Utilities’ proactive and voluntarily approach towards Regulatory Compliance. SAARC Energy Centre believes that the Transmission Utilities should manage as well as monitor their compliance performance by customizing and adopting the compliance framework proposed in the Study whereas Regulatory Bodies may exclusively customize this tool for the purpose of monitoring compliance.

TEnergy Centre (SEC). It provides statistics on different sources of energy in the SAARC Region for the years from 2004 to 2014. The book provides various aspects of energy in this Region for regional and international professionals, researchers and planners.