BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 10. Public sector in Kazakhstan saved 188 million tenge ($433,100) over 10 years due to the Energy Saving Program, Kazakh Vice-Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Marat Karabayev said at a conference dedicated to official completion of Energy Efficiency Improvement Project in Kazakhstan, Trend reports with reference to the Kazakh media.
"The energy efficiency program began in Kazakhstan years ago. Today we are holding a conference in connection with the completion of this program. Then work began on replacing incandescent lamps with energy-saving lamps in state institutions,” Karabayev said.
“At that time, there was a great public protest, all enterprises and state institutions were opposed to the replacement being carried out in an accelerated manner. Today, we probably will not find a building with incandescent lamps," Karabayev added.
"The World Bank (WB) once allocated grant funds in the amount of more than $20 million. These funds were used to conduct energy audits and energy efficiency measures at 96 social facilities - kindergartens, schools,” the vice-minister said.
“Energy consumption at these facilities decreased by 25 percent, and as a result of these measures, the public sector has already saved 188 million tenge. This is an indicator of how government can save budget funds and save electricity," Karabayev said.