BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

ENERGY auditing can be cost effective in saving a significant amount of financial savings for the government sector, which billed over $68 million in electricity last year, said Deputy Permanent Secretary of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office, Hj Ismail POKPS DP Hj Hashim yesterday.

"If an energy saving of, say, 10 per cent can be realised through this energy audit, the government can save nearly $6.8 million per year," said the deputy permanent secretary during the first National Workshop on Energy Audit and Building Design Guidelines for Energy Efficiency and Conservation at Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB).

Although the cost effectiveness of energy auditing makes economical sense and provides opportunities for financial savings, many organisations rarely do so, added Hj Ismail.

The deputy permanent secretary also spoke of the challenges within this, which included key barriers such as "a lack of awareness and technical know-how and a lack of sufficient funding to procure energy-efficient appliances or to deploy energy efficient designs in buildings".

To overcome this problem, he stated that personnel from all 11 ministries who are engaged in the monitoring of building energy consumption or overseeing the operation and maintenance of buildings and its systems have been invited to attend to the national workshop.

Hj Ismail also expressed his hopes that participants will gain knowledge that will enable them to make correct assessments and be responsive to the need for energy conservation in the buildings under their control.

Catering for the growing demand for energy in a sustainable manner while simultaneously tackling the effects of climate change by minimising the emission of air pollutants and carbon dioxide into the environment are challenges that must be met, he said.

An effective implementation of energy audit findings will result in less energy used per unit of economic activity, said Hj Ismail, adding that a more sustainable development can be achieved if less energy is consumed, thus prolonging the life expectancy of the nation's fossil fuel reserves.

Electricity consumption per capita in Brunei is amongst the highest in the region, on par with far more industrialised nations like Japan or Singapore, he said.

"Evidence from energy audits previously conducted in the country indicate that energy savings in the region of 10 to 30 per cent is achievable with zero to little capital expenditure when an effective energy management programme is implemented," stated the deputy permanent secretary.

The primary objective of energy audits, he said, is to determine ways to reduce energy consumption per unit of product output or to lower operating costs.

"Energy audit provides benchmarking with best practices in the same industries that translate into the basis for planning a more effective use of energy throughout the organisation." (AFH1)

The Brunei Times