ISLAMABAD: The Government of Federal Republic of Germany shares a cordial relationship in development cooperation with the Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan (GoP) for over 60 years. Germany has proven to be a key partner in supporting the GoP to achieve its national priority policies since 1960s in different development sectors. Based on the energy sector’s long-lasting cooperation, a new implementation agreement between GIZ Pakistan and the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) has been signed today at the Ministry of Energy (Power Division). Under the agreement, GIZ Pakistan will implement “Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Concepts in Cities and Industry (REEE SCALE) Project. It will assist the Ministry of Energy, (Power Division) and its apex organization, National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) to achieve its national energy efficiency targets.
Under this agreement, GIZ Pakistan will implement a 3.5-year technical cooperation project commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The objective of this project is to demonstrate the functioning of the municipal energy management system in Pakistan.
The project aims to intermix energy efficiency into the processes and workflows of municipal administrations and public institutions responsible for municipal services. This project will implement Energy Management System (EMS) based on ISO 50001 standards, which will mainstream energy-relevant tasks and processes in relevant departments of the partner institutions in selected cities. EMS is a systematic approach for achieving energy efficiency measures that will help to reduce energy consumption and ultimately lower the operational costs and carbon footprints.
The Secretary Ministry of Energy – Power Division, Mr. Ali Raza Bhutta and Mr. Tobias Becker, Country Director GIZ Pakistan exchanged the mementos and reiterated the commitment to strengthen the cooperation further. Managing Director NEECA, Dr. Sardar Mohazzam and Mr. Mohammad Irshad Khan, Project Manager – REEE SCALE among other notables attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Secretary, Mr. Ali Raza Bhutta said Pakistan and Germany enjoy 70 years of mutual cooperation for sustainable development. This project will further help to learn from the experiences of Germany in making our cities sustainable and eco-friendly. I must say, it would produce transformative results to operationalize energy efficiency in Pakistan’s building sector.
Mr. Tobias Becker said: “This initiative will enable city administrations to monitor electricity, gas and water meters. It will further assist the city administration authorities in frequently performing self-diagnostic and optimization routines, reducing the consumption, and saving. The savings will be used for the prosperity of the local citizens.”
The project will establish energy networks for sharing experiences in the national and international context on EMS and its relevant techno-logical and economic best practices and lessons learnt. It will help to systematically adopt the culture of energy efficiency in the municipal services. The results achieved in the pilot cities will be disseminated to other cities and municipal administrations across the country.
REEE-SCALE project responds to the national priority area of the Government of Pakistan, i.e, NEECA strategic plan 2020-2023 and the National Electricity Policy 2021. Through the bilateral cooperation agreements, Germany and Pakistan have been working together to address the impacts of climate change and ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy making cities and communities sustainable, complimenting SGD’s 7,11 and 13.
