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RMA assisted the JICA consultant in conducting the post-evaluation of the “Greater Colombo Transmission and Distribution Loss Reduction Project,” funded by a Japanese ODA Loan. This project aimed to enhance Colombo’s electricity transmission and distribution network to reduce losses and improve the reliability of the power supply, thereby supporting economic growth.

The Grand Hotel is a historic landmark and one of the prominent tourist hotels in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. To identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption of the Hotel, an energy audit was commissioned by the Hotel management. This energy audit was assigned to RMA, which offered to conduct the energy audit as a training exercise for its engineering trainees. RMA studied feasibility of energy serving options related to both electricity and thermal energy supply and utilization.

Ideal Group is a diversified group with interest of automobiles. They are the distributers of Mahindra, Ssangyong and Chery QQ automobiles.

The Company has initiated a programme to improve sustainability of its business practices, and has identified energy efficiency as a priority area. In order to understand its current energy usage patterns, identify areas for improvement and set bench marks, the Company appointed Resource Management Associates (Pvt) Ltd to conduct a preliminary energy audit at four premises the Company operates.

The objective of the study was to examine the variables driving the demand for electricity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to assess options to manage demand with a view to improving the financial performance of Saudi Electricity Company.

The study developed an econometric model of the demand for electricity in the Kingdom, on the basis of actual performance, and used the model along with the official forecast of population and estimated economic growth, to forecast demand for electricity. Impact to the demand for electricity with different demand side management initiatives were analyzed. A dispatch model was developed to dispatch both current and upcoming power plants according to the merit order. With this approach necessity of upcoming power plants were analyzed for the years 2015, 2020 and 2025.

RMA hosted the editorial team of the new Sri Lanka Energy Audit Manual (4 volumes, 800 pages), to convert the contributions of individual authors into an attractive, easy to read manual. RMA energy efficiency experts reviewed the entire manual, and prepared the supplementary information, improved on the charts and diagrams, and prepared a camera-ready version of the manual. This manual was subsequently used in three energy auditor training courses in Sri Lanka, to train 90 energy auditors. The manual continues to be widely used by energy efficiency specialists in Sri Lanka as a ready reference.

Working together with MECADOS Energy Markets, RMA provides technical and regulatory support to establish new rules and regulations, to streamline the licensing of electricity system operators, authorized persons to design and implement electricity distribution systems, labeling of appliances for energy efficiency, and to develop a system of evaluation for proposals from private entities to generate electricity in various islands.

 

In view of identifying an organising the candidate projects to be funded under the proposed Energy Efficiency Improvement Fund to be established in Sri Lanka with JICA assistance, JICA consultant, J-Power assigned RMA to develop a project pipeline. This assignment included reviewing of energy audit reports recently done in Sri Lanka, carrying out technical and financial review of these study findings, selecting promising projects for immediate development and processing three selected energy efficiency projects for development as show case projects.

This project preparatory technical assistance was to formulate the next ADB loan for the Sri Lanka Energy Sector, consisting of transmission, distribution, renewable energy and energy efficiency sub-projects, amounting to an estimated investment of USD 120 million. In association with AECOM of New Zealand, RMA provided expert assessment of transmission options and distribution strengthening requirements, rural electrification project formulation, requirements for distribution strengthening for the absorption of renewable energy to the national grid, and assessment of other renewable energy and energy efficiency interventions required. RMA successfully prepared the application for the Clean Energy Finance Partnership Facility of Japan/ADB, to finance a DSM pilot project in lighting, an appliance testing laboratory to launch the energy efficiency appliance labelling regulations, and for conducting of energy audit training. In parallel, the ADB loan project includes a credit line for the rehabilitation of micro-hydro projects in estates for grid connection under net metering rules recently announced by Sri Lanka.

The project formulated by the joint AECOM-RMA team has since been approved by ADB and is presently being implemented in Sri Lanka.

As the consultant of JICA for its energy efficiency Technical Assistance (TA) program to the Sri Lankan Government, J-Power engaged RMA to carry out a baseline survey in 2008 at the commencement of the TA program. The survey included a national level energy intensity analysis, industrial benchmarking, appliance market energy efficiency status and the status of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) operating in the country. Once the national level energy efficiency baseline was established, in 2009 and 2010, surveys and analyses were carried out to identify the effect of the specific activities carried out within the TA program to improve the energy efficiency of the country. In addition to these surveys and analyses, the impact of demand side management on the power system, especially on the system load curve, was studied with load forecast done for three years ahead.

JICA assigned the development of the funding mechanism for a new Energy Efficiency Improvement Fund to assist the implementation of energy efficiency projects in (i) private industrial and commercial institutions (ii) government buildings, and (iii) appliances used in large scale by all electricity customers. RMA organised an interdisciplinary team of four specialists with hands-on, in-country experience in energy economics, engineering, banking and finance, and in government treasury operations, to develop the structure, eligibility criteria and the operating mechanism for this new credit line.  A comprehensive financing plan was prepared for each focus area of the implementation.