Energy Officers

Tuesday, 12 April 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

State institutions not only employ an estimated 1.3 million people, they also account for a large chunk of electricity consumption, which the Government is hoping to reduce by 10% with the use of freshly-appointed “Energy Officers.”

The new measure will see the appointment of an Energy Officer (EO) who will calculate the average consumption of the institutions under his purview and then walk around switching off any unused computers, fans and air conditioners to meet the target. The EO who has reduced their bills the most will be given rewards including foreign trips and the institution under his would get concessions from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The CEB, which also happens to be one of the largest loss-making public institutions, has already notified several other public offices such as the Central Bank, Port and Airport to establish independent power supply. The fresh steps come after a special committee appointed subsequent to the recent power cuts told Cabinet as much as 300MW of power, the equivalent of one coal power plant, could be saved from electricity conservation. It is also hoped that EOs will inspire public officials and their families scattered around the country to also switch off.

Small steps can sometimes have as much impact as big ones but they both need to happen in tandem. All citizens need to become Energy Officers, in their homes and elsewhere, so that they in turn can influence progressive policy making on energy.

Ever more countries in the developing world — including some oil-producing ones — are embracing renewables as their preferred energy sources. According to the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the newly-industrialised countries, spearheaded by China and India, will spend $2.7 trillion on renewable-based power plants between 2015 and 2040, far more than the older industrialised nations.

However, currently Sri Lanka’s policies only target to shift 20% of its energy to renewables by 2025 and are still in talks with the Indian Government to build a coal power plant in Sampur. Recently enthusiastic talk has been connected to a third coal project with funding from Japan, despite coal being an obsolete source of power around the world. Continued unionisation of the industry has also meant private companies and foreign investors are discouraged from investing in solar and other renewable energy options locally.

Global electricity use, the report says, will grow by 46% between 2013 and 2040; all other forms of energy use, by only 24%. As a result, the share of total world energy provided by electricity will rise from 38% to 42%.

This shift is significant because renewables will provide a greater share of the energy used to generate electricity. Whereas they contributed only 12% of energy to power generation in 2013, the IEA reports, they are expected to supply 24% in 2040; meanwhile, the shares provided by coal and natural gas will grow by far smaller percentages, and that by oil will actually shrink. While coal and gas are still likely to dominate the power sector in 2040, the trend lines suggest that they will lose ever more ground to renewables as time goes on. With such numbers, it is surely time for Sri Lanka to join the rest of the world.