BANK ALFALAH
BANK ALFALAH AND UBL SUPPORT A
GREENER PAKISTAN AND PURSUE SOLAR ATMs
CASE STUDY
Buksh Energy was established in 2009 as a solar energy integrator dealing in extensive energy management
and production solutions. Its solutions range from commercial and residential setups to complete solar off-grid
systems. It has succeeded in ensuring optimum utilization of renewable energy sources for a greener and
better future. It aims to implement practical and economical energy solutions to meet client needs. The
solutions provided by Buksh Energy cater to the critical need of the hour i.e. the prevailing energy crisis through
the provision of easy energy access and affordability for the masses.
The energy crisis has resulted in a country wide power crisis of approximately 8-10 hours in urban areas and 1618 hours per day in rural areas. There is a very small percentage of people who have moved towards alternate
sources like generators and UPS electricity in the hours of load shedding. The rising cost of fuel and grid energy
and the access to affordable energy is condensing with time. The corporate community has been largely
affected by this energy crisis which has a trickledown effect on the overall economic progression. Load
shedding has had adverse effects on the industrial sector, costing over Rs. 210 billion, over $1 billion from
export earnings and a potential displacement of 400,000 workers. (The Causes and Impacts of Power Sector
Circular Debt in Pakistan, March 2013). 1In FY 2011, the total capability of the power system other than KESC
during the peak demand period was about 13,000–14,000 MW, compared with a demand of about 18,500 MW,
resulting in load shedding of 4,500–5,500 MW.
The rising demand and supply gap has further depressed the situation along with the commodity prices hitting
sky high. This shortfall is the opportunity that Buksh Energy aims to cater to in the long-run through renewable
sources. In the short-run, Buksh Energy aims to provide the renewable sources of energy to cater the prevailing
energy problems faced by the common man and active business setups that are suffering a serious loss due to
the energy shortfall. The growth plans are to capture 5% of 18,500 MW i.e. Pakistan's total energy needs,
providing renewable energy by 2020.
Buksh Energy has partnered with EU and World Bank certified brands as integration and energy service
partners from Germany, Canada, US and more that guarantee product performance, efficiency and service
some of which are; SMA, Canadian Solar, Strueder, Hanwa Solar, Outback, Phoenix Solar, Everexceed, Eneltec,
Lawrence and Phocos. Buksh Energy tapped on to the opportunity to install a 10MW Solar-PV power plant. This
plant will be installed in Cholistan that and will contribute 0.14% to the total shortfall in Pakistan.
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CASE STUDY
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Collaboration: Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd. and
Top Commercial Banks like Bank Alfalah and United Bank Limited (UBL)
United Bank Limited (UBL) is one of the leading banks in Pakistan with a nationwide network of 1941 branches
and 200 Automated Teller Machines (ATM). UBL decided to convert its first ATM on Davis Road branch, on solar
energy. Buksh Energy was contracted as their technical partner for the conversion. An audit was conducted by
Buksh Energy with the objective of studying the load calculation and energy consumption in order to propose
an efficient and cost effective solution for load conservation and conversion on solar solution.
Objectives
Conduct an audit to
As the energy crisis escalates, business setups and institutions continue to suffer losses, at the same time
incurring high costs for opting for energy sources. It comes as a relief to organizations as they find a resource
that requires a one-time investment that will provide them easy access to alternate energy sources for the next
25 years of the life of the solution. In such a scenario, United Bank Limited took the initiative and pioneered in
the financial services industry to opt for solar.
It is the first pilot project of UBL of the conversion of
their ATM on solar energy. The audit conducted
included the study on the ATM premises load i.e.
lighting, machine, air-conditioner, power generators.
The analysis was done with the average power factor of
the branch load being 0.82 which is less than WAPDA
standardized power factor that is 0.86. The total toad
conversion is of 12 KW that includes the lighting and
the machine that is converted on solar energy.
The ATM is operational 24/7 powered by solar
energy. As a result to the solar conversion, it will
enable them to have zero downtime with no hassle
in load shifting and will eliminate the lag time
whereby increasing operational efficiency.
Moreover, they will gain through financial savings of
approximately Rs. 500,000, which is annually
expensed on fuel, maintenance and utilities and the
payback period of the total investment.
United Bank Limited was founded in 1959 by Mr. Agha Hassan Bedi with its first branch in Karachi. n 1963, UBL
became the first bank in Pakistan to have a branch overseas- on William Street in London, United Kingdom.
Over time it expanded by opening further branches in Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Karachi and now has over
1300 online branches nationwide and various branches across the globe.
Evaluate the total energy consumption.
Load reduction through utilization of alternate
energy resources for energy conservation.
Conservation of the ATM on solar energy solution
Project Achievements
The study undertaken by Buksh Energy identified
possibilities of converting the ATM on solar
energy solution.
The energy load of 1.2KW was converted on solar
energy solution.
Post-conversion, they will be having financial
saving up to Rs. 50,000.
The ATM will be running efficiently without any
lag and on zero downtime.
The payback period of total investment is 3 years
from installation.
CASE STUDY
03
United Bank Limited was founded in 1959 by Mr. Agha Hassan Bedi with its first branch in Karachi. n 1963, UBL
became the first bank in Pakistan to have a branch overseas- on William Street in London, United Kingdom.
Over time it expanded by opening further branches in Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Karachi and now has over
1300 online branches nationwide and various branches across the globe.
UBL aims to provide world class products and services to customers and for that it has invested in converting
ATMs to solar as a start. On October 24th , 2012, Buksh Energy partnered with United Bank Limited Davis Road
Branch by installing solar panels 235 W Canadian Solar panels with a warranty of 10 years, SMA (Inverters)
Germany with a 5 year warranty Sunny Boy 1600-TL and Sunny Island 2224 and Chinese (200 Ah) *6 batteries
with a 1 year warranty. The project had a total installed capacity of 1.41 KWP. The equipment installed had 7.8
KW of Max PV Panels Generation (Per Day). The total energy generated September 11th, 2013 was 1337.57KW.
The amount of Carbon dioxide (C02) avoided remained 936.30KG. The total load remained approximately 1
KW, for 1 ATM machine, 18W *10 energy savers, 1 data cabinet with IT Switches, DVR and a router. With the
successful pilot executed, United Bank Limited has stepped ahead and signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Buksh Energy to convert their complete ATM network and some of their bank branches on
solar. Another 7 branches are in process of conversion at the moment which include 2 Liberty market branches,
Anarkali bazaar, Rivaz Garden,Allama Iqbal Town, Hanjerwal, Gawal Mandi, Managa Mandi and 1 Peshawar
College Road University branch.
This conversion to solar has saved UBL PKR 50,000 monthly i.e. approximately
USD 485.
The monthly Energy Generation over the life of the system since installation
The Energy Generation over the life of the system since installation
https://www.ubldirect.com/corporate/Default.aspx
CASE STUDY
Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) is the sixth largest bank in Pakistan that is operated by the Abu Dhabi Group. It is
currently conducting business through a network of 471 branches across 163 cities in Pakistan with a network
of 472 ATMs. The Bank provides financial solutions to consumers, corporations, institutions and governments
through a broad spectrum of products and services. It aims to continue investing in its core strengths to provide
'best in class' products and services to its diverse range of clients, one of which is the investment in solar that
will enable Bank Alfalah to operate and promote renewable energy resource with the aim of GOING GREEN.
Bank Alfalah installed a pilot of 1.8KWp solar power plant at the two branches i.e. Baghbanpura Fortress
Stadium branches' ATMs. With the solar plants installed, the ATM's, security system, branch servers and
routers have been made operational for 24/7. The solar plants produce 12KWp of energy each per day (4.38
MWp per annum) per ATM. The power plants installed will have breakeven within the first two years of its
installations, with a payback period of 10 and 18 months respectively. This solution will gain the bank financial
saving of PKR 1.74 Million (USD 168932) and PKR 0.97 Million (USD 94174) annually and PKR 110 Million (USD
106796) and PKR 61 Million (USD 59223) over the next 25 years.
On April 2nd 2013 Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd. partnered with Bank Alfalah Limited to convert its Baghbanpura
branch on solar and on the 25th of April 2013 the Fortress Stadium branch followed. With the successful pilot
executed, Bank Alfalah has stepped ahead and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Buksh Energy to
convert their complete ATM network and some of their bank branches on solar, with 16 branches in process at
the moment. These include the Zarar Shaheed Cantt branch, Shaadman, Ravi Road, Badami Bagh, Okara,
Vehari Road Multan, BG Bosan Road Multan, IBG Gulberg Main branch, BG Kacheri Bazar Faisalabad, BG
Khadim Ali Road Sialkot, IBG Uni Tower branch Karachi, BG Dewal branch, B Awan Arcade Islamabad, Pishin
branch, Gujranwala branch and Loralai branch.
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The data below shows the investment
and savings in millions which
Buksh Energy will be incurring for
a network of their ATMS's.
BAFL fortress
1 ATM
Investment ( In Million PKR )
1.5
Cumulative Saving ( 25 Years)
( In Millions )
69.9
CASE STUDY
Years
Apr-13
05
Total Investment on Saving from Diesel &
Wapda with 7%
Solar System(PKR)
Inflation Rate
1,500,000
Payback
Years
Total Investment on Saving from Diesel &
Wapda with 7%
Solar System(PKR)
Inflation Rate
Payback
1,106,477
-
Apr-27
2,853,089
2,853,089
Apr-14
1,183,930
790,407
Apr-28
3,052,805
3,052,805
Apr-15
1,266,806
1,266,806
Apr-29
3,266,501
3,266,501
Apr-16
1,355,482
1,355,482
Apr-30
3,495,456
3,495,456
Apr-17
1,450,366
1,450,366
Apr-31
3,739,817
3,739,817
Apr-18
1,551,891
1,551,891
Apr-32
4,001,605
4,001,605
Apr-19
1,660,524
1,660,524
Apr-33
4,281,717
4,281,717
Apr-20
1,776,760
1,776,760
Apr-34
4,581,437
4,581,437
Apr-21
1,901,133
1,901,133
Apr-35
4,902,138
4,902,138
Apr-22
2,034,213
2,034,213
Apr-36
5,245,287
5,245,287
Apr-23
2,176,608
2,176,608
Apr-24
2,328,970
2,328,970
Apr-25
2,491,998
2,491,998
Apr-26
2,666,438
2,666,438
CASE STUDY
BAFL Baghbanpura
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1 ATM
Investment ( In Million PKR )
1.5
Cumulative Saving ( 25 Years)
( In Millions )
110
Annual Comparison- Buksh Energy (Bank Alfalah Fortress)
The monthly Energy Generation over the life of the system since installation
The Energy Generation over the life of the system since installation
CASE STUDY
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Annual Comparison- Buksh Energy (Bank Alfalah Baghbanpura)
The monthly Energy Generation over the life of the system since installation
The Energy Generation over the life of the system since installation
“Our collaboration with Buksh energy is part of our broader aim to move in the direction of environment friendly
alternate energy sources, which should also enhance our efficiency by both reducing costs as well as ensuring
zero downtime. ATM are a key delivery channel for any bank and we are pleased that with this conversion, our
ATM's are now functioning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Mr Atif Bajwa (President Bank Alfalah).
Constant monitoring on the online portal that records and monitor the energy production of the plants. The
graph shows the monthly energy yield by the solar plant at Baghbanpura ATM in the month of May, '13.
Online digital software, Sunny Portal, Monitors and extracts regular reports of the solar plants
each ATM Data of the solar plants is Refreshed every 15 minutes Daily and monthly reports
for online view and via email intimation are sent to the management of Bank Alflah.
The software generates the below statistics in Graphical representation.
Input Vs Output
Battery charging and Discharging status
Solar production
Online information of the System
Grid availability and feed-in
Energy meter Status
Errors and Warnings
http://www.bankalfalah.com/
CASE STUDY
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Key drivers and Support factors
ATMs are mission critical machines for financial institutions and convenient online banking sources for the
customer. Ensuring that the ATM is online 24/7 is a crucial for the banks. The probability of downtime of the
ATM at night is greater as compared to day time because of uncertainty of efficient load conversion. A
generator is required not only for smoother functioning of the ATM but also for the avoidance of downtime.
Moreover, a generator of 40 KVA at the Bank Alfalah Fortress branch and 100 KVA at Baghbanpura branch will
run the whole branch during the day serving the load of 50KW and 55.4KW respectively for the branches and
the ATM altogether. Whereas, the same generators were operated to bear the load of 1.2KW of ATMs each post
branch operational hours. Post installation, the generator's operational hours and fuel consumption reduced
tremendously.
The installation of the solar plant freed Bank Alfalah from the hassle of appointing a human resource to ensure
the ATM link remains online during the night and the generator is running effectively to run the ATM during
load shedding hours. The consumer service index has been positive for Bank Alfalah since the installation of the
solar plants increasing the brand value for its efficient and consistent service. Most importantly this conversion
has enabled Bank Alfalah to reduce the carbon footprint by 5,760kg.
This initiative by Bank Alfalah and UBL will largely gain on brand equity for adapting to green
solutions. They have gained recognition at a national level through press for its green initiative and
paving way towards the direction of becoming the environment-friendly bank in the financial
services industry and setting a successful example for other financial institutions. Following their
lead other banks like Soneri Bank are also to follow suit.
“We have found a way to make running ATMs increasingly cost-efficient and energy efficient for
UBL, and we hope to be able to do the same for many others in the future. The smallest things make
the biggest differences and the conversion of ATMs across the country to solar power will generate
25,300 MWh of energy yearly.” Mr. Asim A. Buksh – CEO (Buksh Energy).
For further details please contact:
0322-8946616
E: [email protected]
W: www.bukshenergy.com