Energy efficiency for the future

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd is launching a campaign to promote energy efficiency, with the intention to remind and educate Malaysians on the significance of environmental sustainability through power saving.

The larger purpose of the campaign is to steer the transformation towards an energy ecosystem in the future that delivers balance between environmental sustainability, secure and reliable energy supply, and optimal economic development.

This message is especially important as in the last month we experienced some of the highest temperatures that we have seen in the past years, prompting more usage of air conditioners, fans or coolers, often leading to higher power consumption.

“Given the increasing demand for energy at this time, and even globally, we believe more efficient energy usage is possible with change in energy consumption behaviour which possibly necessitates a mindset shift,” said TNB chief corporate officer Datuk Wira Roslan Ab Rahman.

Disparity exists in the adoption of energy saving behavioural patterns among Malaysians and other parts of the world.

Findings indicate that Malaysians are more apathetic towards conservation of power; Malaysian scores pale in comparison with countries like Norway, Switzerland and Sweden, according to the World Economic Forum report Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2018.

The study shows that mindfulness of energy efficiency and adoption of power conserving methods plus readiness for transition to a secure, sustainable, affordable and reliable energy future is about 15% higher in these European countries, allowing their economies to make strategic energy investments towards environmental stewardship.

Current energy consumption patterns and associated environmental pressures have ignited the government’s concerns regarding energy conservation.

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin highlighted that a regulatory framework, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (EECA), will be put in place to renew the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which set out to achieve 8% energy efficiency by 2020.

To set the tone, the ministry committed to retrofit 50 government buildings with energy efficient LED lighting and high energy efficient value appliances.

There is an expectation that this will lead to savings of RM47bil over 15 years.

“We are at an interesting and important juncture of energy efficient evolution in the country,” said TNB chief strategy and regulatory officer Datuk Fazlurr Rahman Zainuddin.

“As the energy industry continues to evolve, TNB became increasingly aware of the need to meet the global energy challenge and support the transition towards a low-carbon economy.

“With TNB having the ability to play a significant role in much of the ongoing change, it takes upon itself the responsibility to balance this shift, as no single government, industry or institution can address the challenges alone.”

Having contributed to the nation’s development, TNB’s intention is to enhance its capabilities and stay abreast of the transition towards a low-carbon economy by promoting renewable energy

generation, embracing new technologies throughout the operations, and empowering customers to make better use of their power usage through energy efficiency.

“Energy is at the heart of modern economic prosperity. Energy efficiency is believed to be the first leg of a sustainable global energy ecosystem, and as most things, this too begins at home.

“I believe it could be the first step towards mitigation of climate change, better energy security, growing green economies, and delivering solid environmental benefits,” Fazlurr said.

While TNB stresses on the importance of energy efficiency to its 9.1 million customers, through the introduction of product innovations in energy technology like the Maevi and GSPARX smart meters to Malaysian households, it recognises these technologies as the first big step of empowering customers towards the sustainable energy industry of the future, besides instilling environmental consciousness in Malaysians.

TNB also actively adopts efficient technologies and ensures that even the older plants are properly maintained and where possible, upgraded to maintain their efficiency.

As an example, TNB decommissioned inefficient and ageing combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants and replaced them with cutting-edge CCGT technologies that enabled the plants to achieve generation efficiency of up to 60%.

Additionally, six of TNB’s distribution buildings were selected as models of energy efficient buildings in the country.

At the Asean Energy Awards, Wisma TNB Jalan Timur in Petaling Jaya was first-runner up under the Energy Management for Buildings and Industries Awards in the Large Building Category, for demonstrating excellence, creativity, practicality and dedication in the field of energy efficiency.

With this initiative, TNB has managed to reduce up to 6% of energy consumption in the building.

“We believe it’s the small steps that give us the eventual mileage,” said Roslan.

“Sustainability lies at the core of all that we do and is embedded in our company policies and inextricably linked with our business strategy and decisions.

“Our mission is to continue contributing to the nation’s development by providing Malaysia with safe, secure and reliable energy.

“Having said this, we anchor our operations on an identified strategy – embracing green initiatives throughout our business, from managing our own carbon footprint to providing clean energy products and services to customers.”

Source : TheStar