New ways to help businesses cut power bills

Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 18 Oct 08;

NEW initiatives were announced yesterday to help businesses go green, part of a $50 million kitty that includes subsidies for technology, energy-saving equipment and energy audits.

The details come hot on the heels of stiff electricity tariff hikes, which sent companies scrambling to cut costs, and led to a string of complaints sent directly to Singapore Power and to The Straits Times, and posted on blogs.

Many businesses said they would be keen to take up energy-saving measures, at a time when they are bracing themselves for a double blow.

Apart from a near 30 per cent higher power bill from now till December, they are also facing a shrinking demand for products due to the global financial crisis.

The National Environment Agency (NEA), announcing the details of its Sustainable Energy Fund yesterday, said that companies would get help and subsidies to design their premises in the most energy-efficient manner, create a business that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the air, train their own energy managers and help pay for energy-efficient equipment.

For example, $6 million is available to train qualified energy managers who will help firms become more energy efficient.

Many companies here are cutting power use by switching to more efficient generators, air-conditioners and light bulbs.

Nine of 15 companies approached said they already had measures in place.

KLA-Tencor has removed one fluorescent tube out of the three in each lamp. It is a symbolic move, said Mr Theo Kneepkens, its vice-president of Asia operations.

'It's to remind staff to save electricity where they can, because this barely cuts under 0.01 per cent in our costs,' he said.

The international precision engineering company has also been able to negotiate a supply of electricity from Senoko Power directly. This saves a few percentage points in fees to SP Services as the middleman.

Such an option is available only to the largest companies, drawing power of at least 10,000 kilowatt-hours a month, the Energy Market Authority said.

Panasonic Refrigeration Devices Singapore said it is in the process of fitting sensors which switch lights off automatically in an already bright room.

Singapore Power raised its charges a clear 22 per cent for the October to December period for households, while the figure could be nearly 30 per cent higher for businesses. The exact hike is not immediately obvious to businesses, which have several components factored into their electricity tariffs. They are already bracing themselves for the fallout.

Sim Lim Square's monthly electricity bill skyrocketed from $135,000 last year to $162,000 in the first half of this year, and could now reach almost $200,000.

A spokesman for Suntec City said he expected the increase to be over 25 per cent, even though management took steps such as replacing inefficient lamps and adding energy-saving devices to ventilation systems four years ago.

Even small companies are trying to slash their power bills.

Travel agency Journeys' head of administration and finance, Ms S. Jeyaletchumi, said staff use just three of the eight air- conditioners at their premises off Lavender Street, which the firm moved to a month ago.

She said: 'The previous tenant here spent $1,000 a month on electricity and water, and we hope to spend just $600.'

She said the company would be glad to adopt any of NEA's schemes, if they help to cut costs.

Companies are hoping for a reprieve in January, following a drop in oil prices. Singapore Power says that tariffs are expected to decrease if oil prices continue to stay down this month.

Aid to go green
FUNDING help for businesses to go green:

# $6 million to train energy managers. The aim is to have 1,000 such professionals by 2012. Training modules drawn up by the Energy Sustainability Unit start next month.

# $2.5 million for green design. Before a facility is built, the NEA can fund either up to 80 per cent of the cost of workshops or up to $600,000 to find the best energy- efficient workplace measures.

# $500,000 in grants to push firms to take on projects that use less fossil fuel or produce less carbon dioxide.

# $10 million to help with energy audits. About $2 million already approved for such audits at 34 industrial facilities, with the potential to save over $13 million.

# Grants for energy-efficient technologies to help industrial companies offset part of their investment cost.

More grants to help industries save energy

NEA scheme will help industrial companies offset investments in energy efficient equipment
Jamie Lee, Business Times 18 Oct 08;

A MULTI-million-dollar grant scheme to help industrial companies offset their investments in energy efficient equipment is expected to be launched next month, a senior executive at the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.

'The total amount is quite significant,' said NEA chief executive Lee Yuen Hee, adding that this would target investments in new technology.

He said that it would 'definitely be larger' than some current grants such as the $6 million grant to certify professionals in energy management but declined to give the grant size.

He also announced that all cars sold in Singapore must have labels that show the vehicles' fuel consumption and carbon emissions from April next year.

'Currently, we do have a voluntary scheme,' Mr Lee told reporters, adding that about 20 per cent of carmakers have labels for their cars.

He added that having such information on car brochures is not enough.

'It's all hidden in the fine print. It's not really transparent,' he said, adding that having labels would standardise the way information is presented to the buyers.

Mr Lee said that feedback from the distributors was positive. 'They have been quite supportive,' he said.

This would have little impact on sales, said Paul Ng, general manager of Vertex Automobile, which distributes Chery cars from China. 'We're only making the information more visible to consumers,' he said.

The penalties for not having such fuel labels are being drafted and would be 'similar in scope' to the mandatory labels of electrical appliances such as refrigerators and air-conditioners, said Mr Lee.

Since January this year, all household appliance suppliers must indicate the energy efficiency of their products. Under the Environmental Protection and Management Act, suppliers who do not provide labels can be fined up to $2,000.

NEA expects to reduce household electricity consumption by at least 10 per cent over a five-year period through a campaign launched in April this year.

The average monthly consumption fell 4 per cent from May to August, compared with the same period a year ago.

Going green or saving money?
Esther Ng, Today Online 18 Oct 08;

IT COULD be that the environmental message is sinking in, or that Singaporeans are just pragmatic people when it comes to paying their bills.

Whatever the case, recent data from the National Environment Agency (NEA) show that Singapore households are becoming more mindful of energy efficiency.

Following the launch of the NEA’s 10% Energy Challenge campaign in April, the average monthly electricity consumption from May to August was 490 kWH, down almost 4 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Households in five-room flats also recorded the highest decline in average monthly consumption followed by private apartments.

August, in particular, recorded the sharpest drop of more than 8 per cent over the same month last year.

Is this decrease in electricity expenditure due to the NEA campaign or increases in electricity tariffs?

Amid higher fuel prices, electricity tariffs went up 5.7 per cent from 22.62 cents to 23.88 cents per kWH between April and June. It increased a further 5 per cent from 23.88 cents to 25.07 cents per kWH from July to last month.

NEA’s chief executive officer Lee Huen Yee said: “It’s a bit early to determine the factors that have contributed to this decline ... electricity tariffs have been increasing in the past few quarters and this could have contributed to a reduction in consumption.

“At the same time, we have been actively promoting our campaign. So hopefully, the message that we have been promoting has been getting through.”

And with the latest 21 per cent increase in electricity tariffs, Mr Lee says this should give Singaporeans an added incentive to save more.

As far as big businesses are concerned, there are a number of energy efficient incentives under the Energy Efficiency Masterplan — launched last year to coordinate energy efficiency efforts across various sectors — to choose from.

They include NEA’s Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme; the Energy Smart Label; and the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark award.

Going forward, Singapore households and businesses can also expect more energy efficient initiatives from the NEA and other government agencies. For instance, from next April, fuel economy labelling will be compulsory for all passenger vehicles and the current mandatory labelling scheme for household appliances will be extended to include clothes dryers.

A public forum will also be held at the end of this month to discuss further measures that can be taken to increase energy efficiency in Singapore.