Kharabsheh launches national programme for energy conservation 

 AMMAN — Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh on Thursday launched the national programme for rationalising and conserving energy in vital and productive sectors.

The programme is implemented by the Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund (JREEEF), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the ceremony, Kharabsheh, who is also chairperson of the JREEEF, signed four cooperation agreements with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ), Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), Private Hospitals Association (PHA) and Jordan Hotels Association (JHA).

The agreements are aimed to enhance cooperation and coordination in the programme.

Highlighting the importance of the project, the minister said that the programme will help reduce energy bills in the targeted sectors, stressing that the government has taken several measures to support the sectors, the most recent of which was the electricity tariff, which reduced electricity bills by 11-14 per cent last month. 

He also urged local banks, the Central Bank of Jordan and foreign donors to support the JREEEF-run programme, which is also implemented in cooperation with UNDP.

UNDP Resident Representative in Jordan Randa Aboul-Hosn said that the newly launched programme is one of the “most successful sustainable solutions that can push forward the economic wheel and alleviate financial burdens and operation costs”.