Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) has initiated a move to formulate an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Master Plan (EECMP) to improve the overall efficiency of energy use in the country.
The official sources said the SREDA has already outlined its focused areas of the energy efficiency and conservation where it will work with utmost importance, reports UNB.
The SREDA was recently created under a new Act to promote renewable energy and ensuring efficiency in the use of energy, particularly the power and natural gas in industry, commercial and domestic sectors.
Maintaining coordination among public and private sector entities in these fields is also an objective of the SREDA.
According to a Power Division study, the country could save some 2640 MW of electricity from its current consumption of total 7,650 MW in all the sectors if efficient machines and appliances are used by the consumers.
The study found that there is a potential for saving 1020 MW of electricity from present consumption of 1700 MW by residential and commercial consumers through use of efficient bulbs.
Even more power could be saved if light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are used which consumes only 12 per cent electricity to provide 100 per cent light of an incandescent lamp or conventional bulb, it mentioned.
About 30 MW load could be saved from tube lights from the existing 120 MW, while 520 MW could be saved from fans use in residences and offices which now consume 1300 MW, it added.
In the similar way, some 360 MW could be saved from the use of electrical motors which now consume 1800 MW through use of 'variable drive', a new device, which saves 20 per cent power.
About 70 MW load will be reduced from the refrigerators' current consumption of 350 MW while 640 MW load will be saved from the air conditioners' 1600 MW consumption by use of 'inverters'.
SREDA Chairman and Additional Secretary of Power Division Tapos Kumar Roy said the main focal areas of the proposed master plan will be introducing 'energy labeling' on energy efficient products, energy auditing, promoting construction of energy efficient building, and launching public awareness campaign.
In the energy labeling, the companies that sell energy efficient devices will use a special label containing the Star sign on the products to easily identify its energy efficiency characteristics.
For this, they will get some sort of incentives.
In the energy auditing, a provision will be introduced to create independent private energy auditing agency to audit proper energy use in big industries like steel mills, textile mills, mostly who are the bulk consumers of 33 and 132 kv lines.
These audit agencies will work like chartered account firms and credit rating agencies.
In the energy efficient building, there will be certain provision of incentives for the owner and the users of energy efficient buildings and also certain provision will be introduced in the existing building codes to promote the construction of energy efficient building.
The campaign for creating public awareness about the use of energy efficient appliances will be the core ethics of the proposed Master Plan, said the SREDA chairman.
Energy expert and head of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) Dr M Tamim has appreciated the move, but suggested prioritising the areas where easy to work and get maximum result.
He said in most cases boilers in fertiliser, power and other industries are most inefficient which consume huge gas but yield less output. "In many cases, gas conservation could be brought down to half of the present level," said Dr Tamim, who also served as special assistant for energy to the Chief Adviser of last caretaker government.
