This handbook captures the characteristics of a power exchange including the role of power exchange in a country’s power market, advantages of having a power exchange, primary data of each SAARC Member State (SMS), the status of each SMS in terms of readiness in legal, policy, regulatory & technical requirements for each country and the way forward for each SMS for setting up a National Power Exchange (NPEX). The report also covers learnings from India’s journey towards the development of power exchanges. The handbook shall be a useful guide to the policymakers in planning for the development and operationalization of power exchanges. This handbook is intended to set out the appropriate design for an NPEX and to enable each SMS to plan for the short term, medium-term, long-term, and assist in setting up such a power exchange. This will facilitate and foster cross border trade and enable the region to make efficient use of its energy resources, leading to an overall reduction in unserved electricity. The handbook covers the elements required for setting up of power exchange in terms of prerequisites and step by step guide to setup NPEX in SMS.

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The overarching objective of the assignment is to facilitate enhanced deployment of minigrid systems in each of the SAARC Member States. The study will assess the efficacy of a Decentralised, Renewable Energy (DRE) based minigrid or RE combined with conventional energy generation sources to address local social and economic goals, and contribute to realisation of the SDGs. The study will provide stakeholders in the minigrid sector with the most up-to date information and analysis of the market status, challenges and trends in the sector and propose recommendations to overcome the barriers. The study will thus enable policymakers and practitioners in the SMS to be more informed on how to regulate, structure and manage a DRE based minigrid project for providing electricity access to unserved and under-served communities.

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Electric utilities and transmission companies face variability and uncertainty in power demand and supply owing to several uncontrollable factors, which include sudden fluctuations in peak load and unexpected generation and transmission outages. Weather, in itself, is a major driver of power demand, where prolonged and/ or extreme weather events impact power demand and operation in generation. Variable energy generation introduces new sources of variability and uncertainty. This makes forecasting of variable energy all the more important. As wind and solar penetration levels increase, forecasting forms a critical component of operations.

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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was created on 8th December 1985. Presently, the South Asian region consists of eight member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It also has nine observer countries – Australia, China, EU, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, and the USA. For the study in this report, only member countries have been considered as the focus area.

SAARC is a pool of countries, ranking in population from among the smallest (Maldives) to one of the largest (India) in the world. The region has a high population density, with 22% of world’s population occupying only 4% of the world’s land mass and relatively high levels of poverty.

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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Member Nations, comprise of some of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a cumulative GDP growth of 4.8% (The World Bank, 2020). The geographical size of SAARC Nations is just 3% of the world’s area however they comprise 21% of the world’s population and 4.21% of world economy (World Economic Outlook Database, 2020). With increasing economic activities in the region, the per capita electricity consumption of these countries is increasing at rapid rate.

SAARC Countries are adversely affected by energy inefficiency and reliability issues in their power generation and distribution sectors. The electrification rates vary among the SAARC nations - Afghanistan 30%, Bangladesh 64%, Bhutan 100% and Maldives 93% (SAARC Energy Centre, 2017) - thus highlighting these nations have highly contrasting economic and power sector profiles. Further, Bhutan and Nepal meet much of their electricity demands by hydro power; the remaining 6 nations are highly dependent on fossil fuel imports for their electricity generation.

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The overall objective of this study is to increase the deployment of the renewable energy technologies in SAARC Member States through the use of NEM mechanisms. The study will assess and provide solutions to all technical and financial challenges faced by the Distribution Utilities while implementing NEM technology. The aim is to facilitate the distribution utilities for speedy adoption of NEM mechanisms.

The purpose of this study is to identify important challenges for the utilities that may be reducing the speed of adoption of NEM in SAARC Member States, and suggest measures which could mitigate such challenges and rapidly increase penetration of NEM

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Rice-wheat cropping system is dominant in the area constituting Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal; resultantly, this area is producing enormous quantity of rice straw residues, which are generally burnt in open air. This has some short-term advantages to the farmers; however, it also results in health and environmental problems. The black carbon emissions from crop residue burning combines with dense winter fog and give rise to atmospheric smog in South Asia. This smog has serious negative health impacts, and leads to eye infections, coughing, headache, asthma, allergies etc. Smog is also particularly bad for cardiac patients. Therefore, to counter these environmental and health impacts, the open air burning of crops needs to be minimized.

SAARC Energy Centre conducted this study to evaluate other possible uses of the crop residues instead of open burning. There is good potential for use of crop residues (including rice), and the focus of this study is on the alternate uses for crop residues.

Assessment of alternate options for using crop residue instead of open burning in the fields. This includes technology options such as synthesis gas generated through gasification process and its uses.

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The purpose of this study is to assess the manufacturing readiness of two SAARC Member States (India and Pakistan) in BEV supply chain by surveying local supply industry stakeholders, collecting their feedback and suggestions for potential improvements, and making region-specific recommendations. To accomplish this, the study will develop a framework to assess the readiness of automotive industry in respect to BEV manufacturing. Towards this end, a field study of automotive industry has been conducted through interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions with automotive manufacturers and assemblers, and the manufacturers and assemblers of important BEV components including battery, electric motor, controller, cables and associated hardware and software.

The data is analysed and a comprehensive readiness status of the automotive industry as per the study framework is compiled. The study provides an assessment of the performance of competitively advantageous areas of indigenous automotive industry in BEV manufacturing domain. These findings are supplemented and compared with the global best practices using case study analyses of leading countries in BEV manufacturing and adoption. Lastly, it proposes recommendations to assist indigenous automotive industry in member countries to develop strengths in BEV manufacturing, assembling, and related upstream and downstream businesses along with elaborating sustainable strategies and effective pathways to develop and expand the indigenous BEV related industry.

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SAARC region is one of the most energy intensive regions in the world, owing to increasing economic activity and growing population. However, the per capita electricity consumption of SAARC region stands at 576 kWh/year, which is very low compared to developed countries like the US, the EU and developing countries such as Brazil and China. It is also lower than the global average of 2,977 kWh.

With respect to power generation, the total installed capacity of SAARC region is 393 GW as on FY 2019, which is a mix of varied energy resources. For example, India is highly dependent on coal as its primary fuel, while Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka are heavily reliant on hydro resources in this regard. Afghanistan is dependent on imported energy and Maldives meets most of its commercial energy needs through oil. Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily use natural gas and oil for the same reason.

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The most preferable mode of transportation of mass commercial crude/oil products is a pipeline because it is safe, cost effective, and reduces traffic and pollution to a great extent. Pipeline systems can serve large regions of the country or move petroleum from one region to another. For pipelines, the type, layout, location, number, and capacity of facilities are of strategic importance. The planning of a pipeline necessitates the investigation of several alternatives in order to determine whether the project is justified. Comparisons may have to be made with alternative locations for the pipeline, and the shortest and most direct alignment between origin and destination. However, deviations may be necessary because of topographic and other environmental considerations, land use, right of way, and the need to pass near certain supply or delivery points or to skirt heavily population areas.

Bangladesh and Pakistan meet part of their petroleum products requirement indigenously, but rely heavily on imports. In contrast, the remaining five SAARC member states except India meet their entire requirement via imports. Hence, transportation of crude/oil products is a major activity throughout SAARC Member States. Therefore, to reiterate, the logistics of petroleum product supply chain should be arranged as safely, efficiently and effectively as possible. In view of these factors, the purpose of the study is to identify, assess and describe the potential, strategies and logistic aspects of the commercial operation of crude/oil pipeline within and among the SAARC Member States.

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This report has assessed the EV market in the three SAARC Member States (SMS), namely Bhutan, India and Pakistan, and devised an action plan for an electric utility in each of the three geographies to deploy EV charging infrastructure in their respective licensee areas. Electric utilities, which have been in the business of selling power to their customers, have a new business opportunity ahead as electricity becomes the new oil for vehicles. However, conventionally, utilities across the world (albeit exceptions) tend to take a conservative “wait and watch” approach in the initial phases of EV adoption, and due to bureaucratic structures, lack of government interest (for state-owned utilities) and unpreparedness towards changing business areas, their participation is this new business opportunity is affected. The report intends to allay some of the uncertainties of such utilities by enumerating scalable business models based on feasibility and practicability.

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Countries in the region have put considerable effort into setting renewable energy targets and are introducing supportive policy frameworks to attract private sector investment. An effective system of financial and non-financial incentives must also be in place to ensure appropriate conditions to leverage renewable energy’s potential. SAARC nations provide financial incentives like tax exemptions, no import duty on related equipment, R&D incentives, grant of capital cost, etc. and Non-Financial incentives like standard power purchase agreement (PPA), arrangement for small generator and information support. There are several financial undertakings and programmes that have been developed by SAARC Member States to attract investments. While there are certain barriers that hinder investments, probable methods to mitigate the risks are been developed in some countries

Mobilizing international and regional funding for renewable energy projects will happen with governments commitment by developing right policy framework required to encourage private players to invest in the sector. Along with a robust policy and hassle-free investment climate, which forms the basis; targeted government interventions and initial funding by public finance institutions will be needed to set the ball rolling for further funding. A combination of various risk mitigating financial instruments and other creative financial solutions such as hybrid debt structures, loan syndication on lending and structured finance mechanisms need to be leveraged to pick up the pace of investment. Complementing the above solutions with international initiatives such as clean development mechanisms and cross border collaborations can provide the international support that renewable energy projects need. All this needs a dedicated body at the SAARC level to overlook the smooth execution of a balanced mix of the above solutions by the SAARC members

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“Smart grid is an electricity grid with communication, automation and IT systems that enable real time monitoring and control of bi-directional power flows and information flows from points of generation to points of consumption at the appliances level .” Smart grid technologies provide for an interactive grid which facilitates consumers with the option of being prosumer and provides them the opportunity to both consume and sell electricity from and to the grid based on the requirement and price of the available electricity.

SAARC Energy Centre has engaged India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) for the “Study on Development of Roadmap for Implementation of Smart Grid-Concepts, Practices and Technologies in SAARC Region” in May 2018. The objective of this study is to develop a smart grid framework and to identify a list of potential smart grid interventions along with a clear way forward for all the stakeholders in each of the member states in terms of policy and regulatory requirements, strategy to be adopted, institutional changes etc, for smooth transition from existing grids to smart grids

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The medium-term forecasts point towards the SMSs‘ growth firming up, putting an upward pressure on budgets of the countries and widening account deficits, since all of them are import-dependent for their energy requirements. The energy outlook for the region has been prepared by deeply diving into each nation‘s energy profile, determining the underlying demand drivers and corresponding supplies (domestic production as well as imports).

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SAARC Energy Centre awarded the Study on “Infrastructure and Enabling Environment for Road Electric Transport in SAARC Member States” to India Smart Grid Forum in June 2018. The objective of this study is to identify and evaluate key enablers for transition to electric mobility and assess the readiness of SAARC member countries in terms of policy, technology, commercial and institutional aspects. Based on the assessment, implementable action points are to be developed to facilitate electric vehicle rollout in SAARC member states.

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SAARC member states (SMSs) are cumulatively crude oil deficit nations with minuscule oil reserves and production. Of all the SMSs, only India has significant oil production, which still falls significantly short of domestic demand. Therefore oil requirements to meet the energy needs of SMSs are met mainly through imports from the Middle East. In addition ,cumulative refining capacities fall well short of refined petroleum product requirements across SMSs. Amongst SMSs ,only India has significant refining capacity, not only making it self-sufficient but also a net exporter of diesel and petrol to other SAARC nations, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, India is also dependent on the Middle East to meeting its LPG demand. None of the others MS with refining capacities are self-sufficient in meeting domestic petroleum products demand.

Amongst the various petroleum products, diesel is key, with demand from the power sector (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal) and transportation sector (India, Bhutan) driving demand growth. The purpose of this study is to focus on the opportunities and challenges associated with the energy business pertaining to crude oil and petroleum products in the SAARC region, to review the prevailing business regimes and the relevant regulatory and legal frameworks of the SAARC member states, to examine relevant international and regional best practices and their relevance and applicability to the region, as well as to assess options to promote the business/trade of crude oil and petroleum products in the region.

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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity) provides an important step towards energy security in the South Asian region. It is an ambitious project, but it is nonetheless important for the future and development of the region. A factor of particular importance in the Framework Agreement is the necessity for there to be an effective and viable dispute settlement mechanism for potential disputes arising out of the interpretation and implementation of the agreement. This would allow disputes arising across the various aspects of cross-border electricity trade to be resolved quickly and expediently, in a manner that is neutral and fair, and in a way that minimizes any disruption caused to cross-border electricity trade and cooperation in the region.

Studying and reviewing the Framework Agreement alongside international best practices drawn from other inter-State dispute mechanisms allows for a dispute settlement mechanism to be created that is unique to the SAARC Framework Agreement and to SAARC Member States. In this way, SAARC Member States will be able to benefit from the utilisation of an inter-State dispute settlement regime that is tailored to their specific needs, and to their regional preferences. Such a template for the settlement of disputes between SAARC Member States while having in mind the specific context of the SAARC Framework Agreement, may also be adapted more generally for other subject matters and international obligations relating to the region.

This dispute settlement mechanism provides yet another important building block in materialising the vision of the SAARC Member States for the creation of the SAARC Energy Ring and for its operational efficiency. I commend the efforts and initiative of the SAARC Energy Centre and SAARC Arbitration Council in commissioning this important Study, and wish them the very best in their mission to mitigate energy disputes within the region through the implementation of an inter-State dispute settlement mechanism for SAARC Member States.

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The SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Member States, comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka signed the SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation (Electricity) on the Twenty Seventh Day of November, 2014, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The objective is to enable Cross-Border Trade of Electricity on voluntary basis and subject to laws, rules, regulations and agreements of the respective Member States and based on bilateral/trilateral/mutual agreements between the concerned states. The SAARC Energy Centre now aims at implementing the SAARC Framework Agreement. An enabling environment is required for smooth implementation of the Framework Agreement. Consequently, prevailing laws and regulations of the member states are required to be assessed and aligned with respect to Cross-Border Electricity Trade.

Assess the relevant laws and regulations of each of the Member States to
▪ Propose exemptions from duties and taxes on Cross-Border trade and exchange of electricity
▪ Facilitate buying (such as distribution companies) and selling entities (such as generation companies).
▪ Gaps identified, if any, would be required to be tackled through appropriate amendments as recommended in the Action Paper at the end of this report

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All SAARC Member States have continuously growing transportation sector to support their increasing population, rising urbanization and developing economies. This has translated into constant pressure on their dependence on oil imports as well as resulted in environmental externalities including climate change implications and local air pollution. Further, with SAARC Member States setting challenging targets to reduce their respective greenhouse gas emissions over the upcoming y ears under the Paris Agreement held on December 2015 at the 21 st session of the Conference of the Parties6, it has now become imperative to assess the current mass transit systems and move towards designing of policies for providing efficient, affordable, accessible and clean mass transportation services to the citizens.

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Solar energy is a promising solution to meet the demand for electricity services of rural households in remote locations across the developing countries. The SAARC region witnesses a large amount of solar radiation and hence many areas within this region have apt conditions to utilize the available solar energy through Off-grid solar PV systems. Hence various programmes of household Solar Home Systems (SHSs) had been launched by the SAARC Member States. However, after some early success, several doubts have arisen about the effectiveness and suitability of small PV systems for rural development. There have been many organizational, financial and technical problems that hindered progress of various programmes. SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), has proposed this study on Solar Home System under “Study to Investigate the Difficulties for Household Solar Systems in SAARC Region” with the following objectives:
▪ Review the already completed household Solar Home System programmes and Projects implemented by the Member States including the degree of satisfaction experienced by the users of SHSs.
▪ Identify and investigate barriers and constraints in SHS implementation and suggest measures for the promotion and development of Solar Home Systems in the SAARC Region.

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The general objective of this study is to review the Feasibility Study Report of Karnali (Chisapani) Multipurpose Project (1989) so as to see if there is an opportunity to develop this project for the regional markets and create an opportunity for cooperation for trade in the energy sector and eventually leading to creation of an integrated electricity market in South Asia. The key objective are: (i) review of the existing feasibility studies of Karnali (Chisapani) Hydropower Project (1989). (ii) Appropriately point out the requirements of upgrade/improvement in the data/information contained in the existing studies, where required. (iii) Point out the need to incorporate necessary information which is missing in the existing studies, where required, especially from the point of view that the project is to be undertaken as regional hydro power project. (iv) make available detailed ToR for updating the 1989 Feasibility Study, (v) sensitize the decision makers, professionals, investors and developers of a great opportunity to consider the construction of a regional hydropower project and considerably offsetting the electricity demand and supply gap. And (vi) take another step for advocacy towards promoting regional energy cooperation for materializing the SAARC Energy Ring envisioned by the SAARC leaders.

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Major objective of this in-house study is to define a set of minimum/vital/standard data and information for and establishment of SAARC Regional Power Interconnections and Power Trading via facilitation and implementation of the SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation (Electricity).

The study report may cover, but not limited to, regional as well as international data pertaining to cross border electricity trade to be shared among the power exporting and importing Member States including existing generation facilities, transmission network, generation additions and retirements, transmission developments/augmentations

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Coal contributes 39.3 % in global electricity generation and will continue to play a major role in delivering secure energy within in coming decades. Although, the share of coal in the energy mix is declining in developed countries like USA, China and UK, SAARC member states are planning to enhance the coal based power generation as the region has abundant coal resources. Particularly, the expansion of coal fired power generation in India and Pakistan will account for the major increase in coal utilization in the region. Governments of Bangladesh and Afghanistan have also planned to expand coal based power generation in near future. The region is all set for sustained coal utilization in decades to come and coal is going to play an important role in poverty elevation in the region. However, upcoming coal fired power plants in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India will only accounts for ~10% of India’s coal utilization.

The role of clean coal technologies is significant in SAARC region as compared to other parts of the world. This report provides an overview of existing clean coal technologies, their application and potential in SAARC region.

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The purpose of transmission system planning is to develop a reliable and efficient transmission system for transferring power from areas of generation to areas of demand (load) under varying system conditions, while operating equipment within accepted ratings. The system conditions include - changing demand patterns, generation changes and equipment outages (planned or unplanned)

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In this in-house study, proposed under SEC thematic area of Programme to Successfully Implement Technology Transfer (POSIT), the resource potential of a nearby canal named Upper Jhelum Canal, originating from Mangla Dam has been assessed and deployment of a submersible Hydel Turbine at Jaggu water level crossing (RD 123050) near Village Jaggu, Tehsil Kharian District Gujarat has been planned. SEC

Following are the objectives of the study:
• Exploration of the potential sites by measuring its resource potential.
• Identification of suitable sites on the selected canal.
• Detailed planning for the installation of the turbine on selected site.

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The basic purpose of this study was to provide a food for thought to SAARC Member States with a set of viable options with respect to energy storage technologies in the perspective of success stories from the region and beyond. And to explore potentials of commercial application of electricity storage in remote electricity systems, Distribution utility support, Grid stability, residential and commercial storage systems using storage technologies such as Batteries, Flywheels, Compressed Gas, and Pumped Hydro etc.

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The study presents baseline situation of coal sector, asses the technology, policy & human resource capacity and put forward recommendations to promote the role of coal for sustainable development of SAARC region.

This study provides an extensive overview of coal sector in SAARC region with special reference to the current status of coal sector in the region, indicaon of gaps in production and demands, assessment of coal technologies in practice and, lastly, prospecve role of coal in the social and economic progress of the region.

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This is the fifth issue of SAARC Energy Data Book published by SAARC Energy Centre (SEC). It provides statistics on different sources of energy in the SAARC Region for the years from 2006 to 2016.

The book provides various aspects of energy in this Region for regional and international professionals, researchers and planners. Basic energy data of SAARC Member States have been taken mainly from The “Energy Statistics Database” of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The definitions and conversion factors used here conform to those used in the UN publications and have also been included in this issue, for ready reference.

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Distributed generation, especially from household and commercial scale roof top solar PV systems, can reduce power system inefficiencies by avoiding grid losses. The technical challenges associated with distributed generation, such as net-metering equipment and voltage fluctuations, can be addressed using well-established technologies, operating standards, and regulatory best practices. The introduction of Distributed Generation options such as Netmetering, Banking and Wheeling would open doors for private sector investment in the RE sector. The flooding of new equipment and technologies to the market must follow quality performance standards and labelling. Also, the licensing, certifying and permission into the electrical grid becomes a complex technical challenge to the distribution utilities.

As the role and share of distributed and grid-connected renewable energy sources increase globally and in South Asia, several best practices are emerging so are some challenges. SAARC Member States, blessed with immense renewable energy sources, have the opportunity to use distributed generation systems for increasing energy security and moving towards a lowcarbon energy system.

In this context, SEC has conducted a study – ‘Comparative Study for the Prevailing Tariff of Renewable Energy Projects in Member States and Assessing Options such as Net-metering, Banking and Wheeling’ which will assess the situation in SAARC countries and propose an action plan.

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This desktop study conducted by the SAARC Energy Centre (SEC) under a contract to look at the current status of natural gas and LNG industries in the SAARC member countries, with a view to identify potential areas of mutual cooperation including setting up regional / sub-regional LNG import terminals. While the material has been be reviewed by outside experts before release, the views and opinion expressed in the report are those of the original author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the SAARC Energy Centre. The report is meant to facilitate discussion and identify specific cooperation areas for promotion of regional energy cooperation especially in the new and fast growing area of LNG imports.

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SAARC Energy Centre, Islamabad, and ten other regional centres were established under the objective to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia, strengthen collective self reliance, and promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific field.

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Basic energy data of SAARC Member States have been taken mainly from The “Energy Statistics Database” of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The definitions and conversion factors used here conform to those used in the UN publications and have also been included in this issue, for ready reference.

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All Member States in SAARC region have huge and abundant resources of renewable energy which have not been harnessed to their actual potential. However, a few Member States have adopted various policies and implemented national programmes/projects of renewable energy in their respective countries. In this report, a number of potential barriers in deployment of Renewable energy Technologies in Member States have been mentioned, and measures for removal of these have been discussed. In South Asia, the deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies on a large scale shall provide increased energy security, less import of fossil fuel and usage of environmental friendly technologies.

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SAARC Energy Centre (SEC) undertook the short term, in-house Study ‘Harmonizing Transmission Grid Codes of SAARC Member States to Combat Regulatory Challenges for Intra-region Power Trading / Interconnections’ through its Action Program FY 2015. The Study is an in-house effort by Mr. Salis Usman, Research Fellow (Energy Efficiency) and was peerreviewed by Mr. Atta ur Rehman, Director General, Central Power Purchasing Agency, Pakistan. Overall purpose of the Study is to highlight importance of the harmonizing process since it would urge the Member States to adequately prepare for meeting the diversified regulatory challenges corresponding to establishing and operating the regional power interconnections. The Study report is expected to serve as a good starting point for development of the Regional Interconnection Grid Code which is obviously a tough task but not beyond the abilities of the professionals of the SAARC Region.

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In order to highlight the importance of an optimized power generation mix in South Asia, SAARC Energy Centre (SEC) initiated this short term, Study ―Optimum Power Generation Mix for Sustainable Power Sector in South Asia‖ through its Action Program FY 2015. The study outcome is expected to ensure efficient usage of the available generation capacity and to increase overall efficiency of power system of SAARC Member States. The purpose of this study is to provide a reference document on optimal generation mix with respect to each SAARC Member State and to facilitate power sector engineers and planners on optimal dispatch scenarios, based on the latest data pertaining to generation and demand. The Study focuses on the current challenges to the power system with respect to controlling and scheduling the available generating plants for improving the system security and reliability while considering the economic dispatch.

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Improving energy efficiency and avoiding and reducing transport needs can bring about a significant reduction in the demand for petroleum products and the associated environmental impacts. Reduction in traffic congestion, reduction in noise pollution and reduction in accidents are some indirect benefits associated with these strategies. Realizing this, SEC has undertaken an in-house study to estimate the potential of energy saving in the road transport sector in each member state of SAARC with an objective to draw policy recommendations to reduce energy demand in the sector.The study provides useful guidelines and actions required to be taken by the member states to relax its import dependence for petroleum fuels through adoption of efficient technologies and other non-engine related strategies in the road transport sector.

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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”.

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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).

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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.

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This is the fifth issue of SAARC Energy Data Book published by SAARC Energy 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..

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South Asia, as a whole, is having difficulties of supplies in the energy sector. There is load-shedding in all SAARC countries of varying intensities. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, gas shortages have initiated crisis conditions both in thermal as well as electric power sector. Traditionally cheap and abundant gas is no more. In India, major reliance of power sector has been on coal. Despite abundant coal resources, there are coal shortages in India now and coal has to be imported. Oil and Gas is short in all SAARC countries. However, South Asia is rich in Hydro and Coal resources, the latter being the focus of this study.

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The main objective of this study is to review existing cogeneration potential in sugar and pulp & paper industries in four SAARC member countries with a view to assess the current cogeneration situation, potential, government initiatives and legal framework. The study also covers the technical aspects, economic drivers and environmental benefits, barriers and constraints and proposes the way forward for the implementation of cogeneration in SAARC member states.

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The main objective of this study on “Pricing Mechanisms for Electricity in SAARC Member States” is to share the experiences in the area of electricity pricing among the Member States and promotion of energy trade in the region. The institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks for electricity sector of the Member States are also examined under this study.

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