NWSDB annually spends Rs. 3.3 billion for its electricity mainly for water treatment & pumping processes and NWSDB is the largest customer for Ceylon Electricity Board.
The energy management programme of the NWSDB achieved substantial progress and activities upgraded to a higher level of qualitatively and quantitatively for the last couple of years. M&E Services Division is fully equipped with energy measuring equipment to carry out all types of energy audits for energy management works at NWSDB.
The savings due to the tariff category rectifications, mechanical and electrical capital works and other energy-saving projects, which were completed in previous years, were continued during the 2019 and it resulted in a higher accumulated energy & cost savings. It is recorded that the continuing annual savings due to energy conservation projects implemented from 2004 to 2019 are LKR 700 million after deleting the implemented projects older than 5 years.
Energy audits carried out for 20 water supply schemes in 2019 will result in an estimated annual energy saving of LKR 40 million according to their energy audit recommendations for an estimated investment of LKR 150 million.
It is a great achievement by the Energy Conservation Programme at NWSDB, as out of the Energy Conservation budget of LKR 200.0 million allocated for the energy conservation activities in the year 2019, Rs. 190 million worth of project investments completed in 2019.
Twenty (20) energy efficiency improvement projects have been completed during 2019 with a total investment of LKR 190 million resulting in LKR 40.8 million annual savings. This includes both energy efficiency initiatives of M&E Division & M&E section at Regions.
Another 7 projects are at implementation stage worth of LKR 150 million which will result in an annual saving of LKR 35.1 million in addition to above annual savings. These 7 projects are expected to complete by 1st quarter of the year 2020.
The projects continuing from 2019 and new projects planned for 2020, a total of 40 projects have been scheduled for 2020 which leads to the total investment of Rs. 300 million with an annual expected annual saving of Rs. 65 million.
Further 24 water supply schemes are to be energy audited in the year 2020 to support our continuing energy-saving efforts.
M&E Division already initiated to extend the energy improvement activities by introducing energy benchmarking programme, energy compliance programme for new proposals at the planning stage, energy awareness & training programmes for NWSDB staff as well.