Private sector energy efficiency project to be launched in December

28 November 2013

The NBI had been awarded £8.7-million by the UK Department for International Development to fund the project, which would be carried out in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Carbon Trust, which would provide the NBI with implementation support.

“In the current context of energy security challenges and the impact of energy price increases on company operational costs, South African companies need to manage their energy demand and meet country and value chain obligations to reduce their carbon emissions,” Geen said at the eighth yearly Southern African Energy Efficiency Convention, held in Johannesburg. 

She added that the implementation of energy efficiency measures could also improve business productivity, competitiveness and innovation, as well as access to energy efficiency financial subsidies and tax incentives.

The PSEE project was divided into three categories, with different support being provided for large, medium and small companies.

Large companies, which were classified as those with a yearly energy spend of more than R45-million, would be eligible for between 40 and 60 days of consulting support for a range of services, including energy audits, capacity building and the identification of energy-saving initiatives.

To join the programme, large companies would have to commit to the cofunding of 40% of the third-party support provided by the PSEE project, which was estimated at about R280 000 a company, she said.

Further, companies would also have to appoint a project champion that would commit time once a week to attend working and steering group meetings, and facilitate internal meetings. Ad hoc time would also be required from key stakeholders across departments such as finance, procurement, operations, sales and marketing.

Companies should also be willing to open up their core business and industrial processes to examination, provide their energy consumption data and commit to implementing priority recommendations arising from the studies.

Meanwhile, participating medium-sized companies, with a yearly energy spend of between R750 000 and R45-million, would, through the PSEE project, receive up to four days of direct on-site support, which would include site surveys, energy audits and face-to-face engagement to identify energy efficiency opportunities, Geen said.

She added that the project service for medium-sized companies would be fully funded by the PSEE project.

Further, small companies, with an energy spend of below R750 000 would benefit from remote services, including a helpdesk and capacity building initiatives.

The PSEE project would run until March 2015.

This article was sourced from Creamer Media.

The original article can be found here.