Doable to save energy and money

Lots of aircond compressor at one of the shop building in Kuala Lumpur. - FAIHAN GHANI/The Star

PETALING JAYA: Energy efficiency retrofit projects can achieve up to 40% or more in energy savings depending on the condition of a building, a previous project by local energy service companies has shown.

Malaysia Association of Energy Service Companies president Zulkifli Zahari said energy service companies had participated and provided input to the Building Sector Energy Efficiency Project (BSEEP), which was co-funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and carried out with relevant government and private stakeholders.

An important aspect of this project was to examine and propose appropriate legislation to mandate energy efficiency practices in buildings, and included some demonstration projects to showcase the benefits of being energy efficient.

“Depending on existing conditions of a building, energy efficiency retrofit projects can achieve up to 40% or more in energy savings after carrying out detailed investment grade energy audits to determine what measures and upgrades can be done,” he said in an interview.

Zulkifli pointed to another earlier project – the Malaysian Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement Project (MIEEIP), which targeted energy efficiency of big industrial energy users such as the steel, food, cement, ceramics, pulp and paper sectors.

“What this project successfully demonstrated is that even when the electricity tariffs were much lower then, factory owners were able to achieve returns of investments within two to three years upon the completion of energy efficiency measures.

“There was also a demonstration project that yielded a return of investment within six months due to fuel switching,” he said.

On Aug 28, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the government would soon table the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (EECA) in the coming parliamentary meeting.

Under the proposed Act, the biggest users of electricity, as well as buildings of a certain size, will be required to carry out energy audits.

However, residential consumers are exempted.

On the EECA, Zulkifli said its drafting actually started way back in 2011, which had since involved around 70 stakeholders.

“The journey has taken about 12 years right, and has gone through four different administrations. It was targeted to be enacted in 2014 by the then administration.

“Nevertheless, it’s better late than ever,” he said, adding that energy efficiency measures could significantly contribute towards Malaysia’s target of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity by 45% against gross domestic product by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.

“Energy efficiency is actually the first thing we should address to mitigate greenhouse gases, but a bit harder to comprehend and implement,” he said.

On what provisions would be expected to be included under the EECA, Zulkifli said such information is still embargoed but there are hints in the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) launched by the Prime Minister on Aug 29.

He said currently, the Efficient Management of Electrical Energy Regulations (EMEER) 2008 enforced by the Energy Commission only mandated facilities that use three million kWh over six consecutive months to disclose their energy performance, which affects industries and large installations like hospitals and shopping complexes.

“In the NETR report, there will be enforcement of mandatory audits for large commercial and industrial buildings.

“Also, there would be an increase in Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for equipment. So, we can expect regulating buildings equipment and specific expertise to be included in the Act,” he said.

Asked if there could be penalties for failure to comply, Zulkifli said: “Under the current EMEER regulation, there is a penalty, which includes a fine and a jail term if affected facilities do not comply.

“I do expect there to be some penalty... but I am sure there will be a limited grace period for facilities affected so that they have time to fulfil the requirements.”

Under EMEER, any affected facility failing to submit the required information or documents commits an offence, which upon conviction, is liable to a fine of not more than RM5,000 or a jail term of not more than one year or both.

The proposed EECA, said Zulkifli, is not just important in terms of facilitating Malaysians to optimise their operational and energy costs, but also critical in addressing climate change commitments by the government.

“One of the purposes of any such legislation is to acquire information and data.

“Once affected facilitators have carried out the mandatory audit, then they would be able to benchmark themselves against mandatory targets or others similar to their operations.

“Then they can address what possible savings can be achieved.

“Most buildings in Kuala Lumpur are more than 25 years old.

“The older the buildings, the better the chances of finding potential savings,” he added.

How much a building could save in terms of energy, said Zulkifli, would depend on factors such as the size and total area of the building, the state of its existing mechanical and electrical installations, last upgrades, insulation levels of the building, as well as the prevailing electricity tariff structure.

“Many energy efficiency measures can be done without spending any money, just by the good habits of the occupants, such as switching off the lights when you go out or switching off the air-conditioning in the case of split units.”