KARACHI: K-Electric’s (KE) flagship Bin Qasim Power Station (BQPS)-II became the first Pakistani power plant to achieve ISO 50001 energy management system certification. The certification was awarded by ISO-accredited body Bureau Veritas Pakistan to K-Electric after due process alignment and auditing. The power utility is recognized as one of the industry leaders in energy management practices and this certification is yet another testament to the KE’s longstanding commitment to sustainability, including energy management initiatives to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse emissions, the company said. According to K-Electric Chief Generation & Transmission Officer Dale Sinkler, “with BQPS-II becoming the first Pakistani power plant to achieve ISO 50001 certification, KE is proud to have blazed a trail in energy performance and fuel efficiency. This certification not only ensures that we have a structured energy management system in place at BQPS-II but also allows us to replicate efficient practices to other power plants in our generation fleet.” Commissioned in 2012, BQPS II is the KE’s flagship power plant with an installed capacity of 560 MW. The plant is equipped with 9E – which is a robust, proven platform that delivers high availability, reliability, and durability while lowering the overall cost-per-kilowatt, the company said. It is pertinent to note that all of the KE’s power plants are certified under the Environmental Management System Standard – ISO 14001:2015, in addition to their compliance with National Environmental Quality Standards. Moreover, 17 of KE integrated business centres (IBCs) are also certified with ISO 9001-2008, 12 of which gained certification in FY 2016, the company stated. KE under its energy management policy actively promotes awareness for energy conservation, conducts energy audits per ISO 50001 global standard – aimed at reducing electricity costs, enhance productivity and help save the country’s natural resources for future generations both within the company and also to its consumers, KE said. Moreover, KE under its climate change initiative has planted more than 65,000 trees in partnership with WWF and other supportive institutions and aims to take this to a total of 100,000 trees by the end of 2017, the company said. ISO 50001 is an International Standard that enables organizations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, and over the years has emerged as an efficient tool globally to help organizations cut energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions. Published in Daily Times, October 14th 2017.