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Plan in place to cut electricity consumption by 20 per cent

By JT - Apr 05,2018 - Last updated at Apr 05,2018

AMMAN — Deputising for Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh on Wednesday launched the second national plan to rationalise energy, which aims at lowering electricity consumption by 2,000 gigawatts between 2018 and 2020, with a cost of JD700 million.

Kharabsheh highlighted the importance of the plan in addressing energy challenges, at the top of which is the heavy oil bill that has constituted in some years 18 to 20 per cent of the gross domestic product, five times higher than the international average.

The minister added that such difficulties forced Jordan to seek solutions, including this plan he announced, whose success requires joint efforts slash energy consumption, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He added that the project aims to annually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by some 962 kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide, which will help the Kingdom achieve targeted goals of its commitments towards climate change and relevant international agreements.

The plan is part of the ministry’s endeavours to realise strategic goals of the energy sector to improve energy efficiency and lower consumption by 20 per cent by 2020, Kharabsheh noted.

The minister described the plan as a “national roadmap”, which entails all programmes, projects and measures necessary to be implemented to reach all targeted indicators in cooperation with stakeholders. 

He said that the plan includes 26 procedures covering the household, commercial, service, industrial, water pumping, street lighting and transport fields, in addition to other eight procedures shared among these fields. 

The procedures included endorsing the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law and a bylaw on the criteria for exempting renewable energy resources and their devices, and devices of energy rationalisation from customs fees and, wholly or partly, the sales tax, he added. 

Kharabsheh thanked the EU for supporting the plan through providing technical assistance to the renewable energy and energy rationalisation sector.

Representative of the EU Ambassador to Jordan Omar Abu Obeid noted that the funds extended to the Kingdom’s renewable energy sector amounted to 160 million euros, in addition to other forms of support as part of multi-party regional cooperation.

Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund Executive Director Rasmi Hamzeh said that the fund would follow up and evaluate the plan in partnership with all stakeholders.

The Energy Ministry implemented the first national plan on energy efficiency in 2014, under which it has lowered electric power consumption by 7.6 per cent, equivalent to 806 gigawatts.

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