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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Energy Efficiency
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2024.1391973

Demand Side Management Scenario Analysis for the Energy Efficient Future of Pakistan -Bridging the Gap between Market Interests and National Priorities

Provisionally accepted
  • Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Pakistan is facing the worst level of energy and economic crisis of its history. The underlying reason of economic crisis is basically due to the energy crisis. Various approaches have been adopted to tackle energy crises which country is facing for over two decades. Demand Side Management (DSM) is the most potent and cost-effective option to redress the energy crisis, which, unfortunately, has been the most neglected strategy in Pakistan. DSM has the potential, to save up to 10.0%-15.0% of primary energy to ensure the country's future energy security. Laws and codes do exist, but ironically, the most vital element of DSM's policy framework and implementation mechanism is missing. Hence, the main objective of this research is to develop a DSM model for Pakistan and analyze the Reference and DSM scenarios. Low Emission Analysis Platform (LEAP) is used to develop Pakistan's DSM model for the study period 2021-2050. The three alternative DSM scenarios developed include Energy Efficiency (EEF), Energy Conservation (EC) and Load Management (LOM) and are analyzed. The model results estimate the electricity demand forecast of 1009.8 TWh under reference scenario in 2050 while DSM tends to result in a 26.38% decreased electricity demand compared to reference scenario. The alternative DSM scenarios also outperform the Reference scenario. In the year 2050, EC scenario reduce consumption by 178.0 TWh and GHG emissions by 19.20 million metric tons; EEF scenario reduce consumption by 110.30 TWh and GHG emissions by 10.04 million metric tons; and LOM scenario suggest reduced consumption by 101.0 TWh and GHG emissions by 6.20 million metric tons. This study concluded the DSM must be institutionalized in Pakistan by building a robust regulatory framework and execution mechanism at the government and utility levels.

    Keywords: Demand Side Management; Energy Efficiency, Energy conservation, load management, Energy Policy, energy efficiency

    Received: 26 Feb 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chughtai, Uqaili, Hussain Mirjat, Shaikh and Khatri. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Arshad Chughtai, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.