He noted for instance that the European Commission supports the refurbishment of energy inefficient buildings as a strategy to improve energy efficiency. The European Commission also supports ways to simplify access to financing to improve efficiency of buildings.

“The Philippines may consider adopting similar key measures as that of the EU,” Ledoux said.

In Europe, energy efficiency measures include having energy performance certificates included in all advertisements for the sale or rental of buildings, the implementation of heating and air conditioning systems and that all new buildings must be “nearly zero energy buildings” or those that have very high energy performance and that the low amount of energy required must come from renewable sources.

In Europe, energy distributors or retail energy sales companies have to achieve 1.5-percent energy savings per year through the implementation of energy efficience measures, Ledoux said.

“EU countries can opt to achieve the same level of savings through other means such as improving the efficiency of heating systems, installing double glazed windows or insulating roofs. In the case of the Philippines, installation of efficient air cooling systems,” he said.

Large companies, meanwhile, will make audits of their energy consumption to help them identify ways to reduce it, he also said.

Indeed, the Philippines can implement a lot of similar measures to make energy use more efficient especially on the back of thin reserves this summer.

One European company operating in the Philippines, Netherlands-based Philips has launched a campaign that encourages Filipinos to start saving energy now to manage the impending power shortage this summer.

Dubbed as #MayMagagawaKa, the Philips-led campaign encourages Filipinos to start saving energy.

In an interview, Fabia Tetteroo-Bueno, country manager of Philips Philippines, said there are many ways to save on energy without drastically changing one’s lifestyle.

The campaign is jointly organized by Philips, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) Bank, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). It seeks to raise awareness and build urgency on energy conservation in the country.

The campaign comes on the heels of the one-month Malampaya maintenance shutdown, which commence on March 15 and will last until April 13. The campaign left a 700-megawatt void in the local power grid and renewed the mounting calls for energy conservation in the country.

Henry Schumacher, executive vice president of ECCP said that power interruptions can indeed disrupt the economy when left unmanaged.

Source: The Philippine Star