KATHMANDU, NOV 05 - Stressing the need of effective efforts to save energy from familial core, Dr Dinesh Chandra Pyakurel, Secretary of Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) urged that domestic industries should pursue energy efficiency activities.
"It is to give drive to such energy saving programmes at the industrial level that the government seriously looks forward to finalise an industrial energy efficiency policy (IEEP) soon," he said.
He was speaking at a workshop on the IEEP, organised by MoICS, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Environment Sector Programme Support (ESPS), a DANIDA funded government project.
Dr Pyakurel further said that the optimisation of energy would help local industries secure price competitiveness in the global market, which is very important in the context of Nepal to access in the global trade regime.
Referring to a study of the ESP, Dr Govinda Kusum, Joint Secretary of the MoICS and Chairman of the task force that drafted the IEEP, said that minor change in housekeeping and awareness alone helps an industry save 11 percent of energy inputs.
Energy audit conducted by the Energy Efficiency sub-component of the ESPS in 174 industries has shown that introduction of energy efficiency activities in them could save them Rs 130 million in a year.
"Most importantly saving energy through cleaner production does not cost much, but promises high return immediately for the industry," said Soren Vildrik, Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the ESPS project. Recalling the international experiences, he added, practice of cleaner production and energy efficiency activities saves up to 30 percent of energy in an industry.
He further said that the ESPS has succeeded in enforcing waste water and air emission standard for controlling environmental pollution. "But, the programme has still a long way to go in the field," he stated.
Binod Bahadur Shrestha, President of the FNCCI, opined that clean environment was also in the interest of the industries which are mostly blamed of damaging the environment.
"Formulation of IEEP, the first of its kind in the country, is a good start. But the government must make sure that the policy is enforced effectively and deliver results," he said.Posted on: 2003-11-04 09:34

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