Nepal's Tourists
Reduce the Load
Nepal's Tourists Reduce the Load
Despite its enormous hydroelectric potential, Nepal will be running out of electricity supply capacity within a few years' time. In a broad energy efficiency project supported by the World Bank, tourist hotel lighting has been identified as a key area for action.
Nepal, located on the northeastern border of India, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The annual income is less than US$200 per capita. A minority of the almost 20 million inhabitants live in the countryside, and the economy is dominated by agriculture. The country's industry, centered around the capital, Katmandu, relies heavily on imported fuel, which is generally much subsidized. Although the subsidies are being phased out, fuel imports continue to drain the country of scarce capital.
Electricity is generated mainly by hydro-electric dams, although small diesel-powered engines provide ~10% of the electric power. A small share of additional capacity is also bought from India. Nepal has a formidable hydroelectric potential of which 25000MW could be developed, according to the World Bank. However, developing the country's hydroelectric resources is a time-consuming and costly task, and as of today the installed generation capacity is only ~270MW, of which hydro accounts for ~230 MW. On a per-capita basis this level of electrification is extremely low. For example, Sweden, with less than half the population of Nepal, has an installed capacity which is more than 100-times that of Nepal's!
Nepal's maximum system peak occurs on winter evenings, and the national power administration anticipates that within a few year's time demand will exceed supply.
CAPITAL DRAINAGE
In 1991, the Nepalese government and the World Bank, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), initiated a project aimed at increasing the efficiency of the industrial and commercial sectors of the Nepalese economy. In the program, which has a budget of ~US$5 million, the highest priority is being placed on reducing the Nepalese industry's dependence on imported fuels by improving overall efficiency and switching to domestic fuels.
The reason for focusing on fuels is obvious: During the 1980s, petroleum imports alone consumed 30-50% of Nepal's annual export and tourism earnings. However, even though electricity generation today doesn't require much imported fuel, this situation could worsen quickly since additional power may have to be provided locally by diesel engines if the peak demand reaches the ceiling before new hydro-electric dams have been completed and connected to the grid.
In the case of Nepal, commercial lighting accounts for a very large part of the system peak. Katmandu's tourist hotels and a few of the larger shopping centers have been identified as excellent targets for the first lighting efficiency projects: The Nepal Electricity Authority's 43 largest customers together represent about four percent of the county's load, and these 43 customers together constitute about 7 percent of the combined contracted demand. Since these customers are primarily located around Katmandu, they are prime targets for energy efficiency activities.
Of these 43 customers, 20 are hotels. A study concluded that lighting represents an average of 26% of the electricity consumption in 4- and 5-star hotels and as much as 47% of the consumption in 2- and 3-star hotels. Lighting accounts for as much as 62% of the average electricity use in shopping centers and for ~50% in other buildings. In the evening hours lighting makes up an even higher-but still unknown- share of the consumption.
According to the World Bank analysis, it would be cheaper for the Nepalese Electricity Authority to upgrade these customers' lighting systems than to increase production capacity if the lighting systems are in use ~20 hours a week or more. From the commercial customer perspective, the break-even point lies at ~40 hours a week or more with today's pricing. These customers pay a price that is closer to the "real" costs of generating the electricity than do other customers; thus their financial incentives are higher.
If hotel owners were to invest in a variety of efficient lighting products their pay-back time would lie somewhere between 2 and 4 years. These calculations were made assuming that the replacements are relatively simple products. For instance, it was assumed that electronic CFLs would only be used in cases where 100-watt incandescents are to be replaced. For lower wattages, replacement with the electromagnetically ballasted integral type of CFLs was assumed.
These hotels would serve as good demonstration sites, given their high visibility and importance to the economy. Moreover, they all are staffed with technicians, making them especially suitable for such a study. However, many barriers remain.
EXPENSIVE IMPORTS
Although Nepal's and India's economies are closely tied, the trend towards efficient lighting that has started in India has not spread across the border. Thus hotel owners wanting to invest in efficient technology today would quickly find that much of the lighting equipment that could be used in retrofits simply does not exist in Nepal. Incandescent lighting is dominant, and where fluorescent lamps are used, the ballasts are of types that have high losses. In fact, according to a World Bank report, losses from some of the fluorescent equipment were twice as high as those expected from equipment of standard design and performance.
When importing products, a customs duty of 20% is levied on products from India, and an additional 15% is levied on products from all other countries. Transporting equipment from Calcutta up to Katmandu also adds significantly to the price.
Despite the higher prices of efficient lighting equipment, Nepal's hotel owners are interested in efficient lighting. However, they lack the knowledge required to make the upgrades themselves. Thus, within the efficiency project, a professional lighting design consultant will be hired to help reduce electricity bills while improving the quality of the lighting in these hotels.
Nils Borg
For more information, contact:
-
Mr. Koirala, Ministry of Industry, Singhadurbar, Katmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977 1 21 58 06
Fax: +977 1 22 03 19
- Amarquaye Armar, The World Bank; Power Development, Household Fuels and Efficiency Division, 1818 H-Street, NW
Washington DC 20433, USA
Tel: +1 202 473 1037
Fax: +1 202 477 0542