Energy Crisis - What can SMEs do?

Posted Sep 3, 2009 | 0 | Filed under:

With the on-going energy crisis in Kenya, clients often ask us, "what can we do to ensure that our operations continue without incurring exhorbitant costs by using back up power?"

While this is a complex question whose answer is very company specific, some basic steps once can take include:

1. Lower your energy consumption.

A company can lower their energy consumption through implementing energy efficiency measures. But this need to be carried out based on a scientific assessment of current energy consumption as well as a clearly calculated return on the investment required to implement these energy efficiency measures.

2. Diversify.

Getting a good understanding of your energy consumption helps a company use the right technology for the right need. For example, a restaurant should have most of its hot water heated through solar thermal, its friers should either use LPG or where possible, briquettes. Lighting should primarily be LED or CFL to lower energy consumption. With this diversification, the reliance on the grid is reduced to         lighting only. And since the load is greatly reduced, it becomes economically feasible to use inverter back ups for the lighting instead of diesel generators.  

3. For security lighting, solar street and security lighting makes a lot of sense.

This is because one needs 24/7 reliability. And yet when the     grid is out, one is forced to run diesel generators. Solar street and security lights provide lighting independent of the grid and when designed correctly, can provide all the security lighting needs a business or institution requires without the need for back up power. And because these lights are independent of each other, should one light fail due to either vandalism or wiring issues, the others continue to function. 

Yes, there is a crisis and yes, it is causing a lot of financial and operational hardships for SMEs. But in most instances, there are things that businesses can do to better improve their energy reliablity and independence while getting a positive pay back for their investments.