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Sri Lanka (August 12) - The inaugural energy efficiency audit and training was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from August 2-12, 2004. An international team of experts from the Alliance to Save Energy and the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of Bangalore, India facilitated the event. Attendants crossed borders to refine their engineering knowledge and gain experience in performing audits of their municipal water supply and energy systems. Sri Lanka’s Energy Management Association (SLEMA), the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWDSB), and engineers from Delhi Jal Board (DJB) spent the training learning up to date information on energy efficiency in pump and motor systems and other machinery for municipal water supply. Through case studies and field work they learned the necessity and financial benefits in efficiency of water delivery systems. The goal of the training was to build capacity for engineers from NWSDB and SLEMA to perform energy audits for other water supply systems and for the engineers of DJB to prepare for an upcoming training in New Delhi, India.
 In the year 2000, 1.1 billion people on the globe did not have access to clean drinking water. This significantly impacts health, environment, and the sustainable development of societies. The most significant operating cost in providing water and sewerage services is in the power cost. Generally 50-70 percent of the power consumed by a municipal corporation in India and Sri Lanka is used for water or sewerage pumping. In developing countries simple efficiency practices can have significant impact.
The team of Sri Lankan and Indian engineers performed energy audits on two pumping stations in Sri Lanka. They identified practical, sustainable, and economically viable energy saving opportunities and used sophisticated measuring instruments to gather results. In examining the results they found the potential for energy savings to be significant, with only a small amount of money required for investing. The audit at Dehiwala, part of the Ambatelle Water Supply System, near Colombo City, showed that with an investment of USD 110,000 approximate energy cost savings of USD 124,500 could be achieved within a year, a payback of less than one year. An audit in Anuradhapura municipality would produce twice as much in energy savings, saving more than 25 percent of the total energy in use there. Implementing these measures would pay back in nine months.
The Alliance had designed this program so that the engineers of NWSDB and SLEMA develop the capacity to conduct energy audits of their own municipalities and conduct trainings for others on how to do so. Mr. Thewarappemma, Mechanical Engineer at NWSDB raved, “We haven’t done this kind of Energy Efficiency Audit program before. It was a totally new experience for us. We were able to fine tune our knowledge about mechanical and electrical theory and application. Now I know the things that can be improved in my region.” The Alliance will monitor implementation of the energy audit measures, focusing on financing large expenditures such as pump replacements. NWSDB plans to conduct another energy audit with SLEMA to test the knowledge they have gained through this training. The Alliance will act as a technical consultant in this process.
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