What factors cause weak industrial energy management practices?

The aim of this study is to investigate the ongoing energy management and energy efficiency practices in the industries of Peshawar division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The outcomes of this research shows that Khazana Sugar Mills, Caliph Pharmaceutical, Naguman Flour Mill have no or low awareness of energy management practices (awareness level mainly includes barriers to energy efficiency and drivers for energy efficiency) except FF steel mill. The major paces observed in lacking the awareness are (1) "understanding level of staff and workers about energy savings due to energy management practices"(2) "interest level of top managers for energy management implementation"(3) "awareness level regarding energy efficiency"(4) "lack of technical competence"(5) "use of standardized procedures". When the industry managers were inquired about the relationship with energy service providers it is found that there is absolute absence of energy engineers, relationship with energy consultancies and long-term energy strategy in all the industries. It was also found that there is lack of using renewable energy technologies in all industries as they were relying upon using the generators during the blackout hours. In terms of percentage, the energy saving factor of 36 kWh/day has also observed with the replacement of fluorescent tube lights with light emitting diode (LED) tube lights. Proper maintenance and energy management practices in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) would also save energy in a significant amount. The study shows that there is an overall improvement factor of 4% to 8% if the inclusion of energy management and energy efficiency practices would have been applied in all the stated industries.