Energy Ministry signs agreements for school heating, power-saving lamps distribution, training

AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Wednesday signed three agreements to implement the second phase of the Royal Initiative to provide heaters for 35 schools, distribute energy-saving lamps to 150,000 subscribers and implement the programme to award training certificates for energy engineers, at accost of JD1.74 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh stressed the importance of the agreements in developing the energy sector in Jordan, achieving the objectives of the national strategy in boosting local energy sources, preserving the environment and reducing the oil bill.

Kharabsheh, who is also the chairman of the Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund (JREEEF), signed an agreement to distribute energy-saving lamps with Irbid District Electricity Company Director General Ahmad Theinat, Jordanian Electric Power Company Director General Marwan Bushnaq and Electricity Distribution Company Director General Hassan Thneibat, according to Petra.

The agreement, worth around JD700,000, requires the fund to provide the bulbs, while the electricity distribution companies will ensure the distribution and installation of these lamps and the replacement of the old bulbs, as well as getting rid of them without affecting the environment. In return, the fund will pay the companies administrative fees.

Kharabsheh underscored the significance of this agreement in supporting the ministry’s efforts to reduce the energy bill for the subsidised segments of society. 

The second agreement, signed by JREEEF Executive Director Rasmi Hamzeh and National Energy Research Centre/Royal Scientific Society Director Walid Shaheen, aims to implement the second phase of the Royal Initiative by providing heaters to 35 schools and improving their energy efficiency, at a total value of around JD1 million, Petra added.

The fund started implementing His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative in February 2017 to provide heaters in schools across the Kingdom, starting with 100 schools located in the coldest regions, Kharabseh highlighted.

The third agreement, signed by JREEEF Executive Director Rasmi Hamzeh and Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (affiliated with the League of Arab States) Executive Director Ahmed Badr and Jordanian Engineers Association President Majed Tabaa, includes training of engineers and granting them energy engineering certificates. 

Worth JD40,000, the agreement will provide training to 50-100 engineers.