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Friday, August 26, 2005
'Energy auditors' to inspect offices, schools
MANILA -- Malacañang is serious about its energy conservation program, with "energy audit teams" to make unannounced spot checks next week of government offices, colleges and universities and state-owned corporations, an official said Thursday.
Energy Undersecretary Peter Abaya said a 15-member team, which he will head, will grade these agencies and offices based on their implementation of energy saving measures-from dropping air conditioning temperatures to unplugging computers-all aimed at meeting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's target of slashing government energy use by 10 percent.
Under the new rules, government buildings must replace ordinary light bulbs with energy-saving fluorescent lamps and set air conditioning units at 25 degrees Celsius, turning them off an hour before the close of office hours, Abaya said.
Air conditioning accounts for 70 percent of the electricity costs of offices, he said.
Travel restrictions have also been imposed on the government's fleet of 74,000 vehicles, which will have to start using gasoline or diesel mixed with ethanol or other renewable fuel additives.
The President ordered the creation of an energy audit team in the wake of soaring prices of oil in the world market.
The Philippines imports practically all of its oil, which was hovering close to $68 a barrel Tuesday, and officials have warned that it faces slower economic growth and higher inflation and could see its foreign exchange reserves depleted, unless international oil prices fall.
At the Cebu City Hall, air-conditioning units in some offices will be replaced and some departments will have to cut down on the use of some vehicles to help conserve energy, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said.
He said old air-con units at the Cebu City Medical Center and the City Health Department will be replaced with new ones since old units consume a lot of energy.
The mayor will also limit the trips of Kaohsiung buses within Metro Cebu only to save on fuel.
"We will work on the air-conditioning units first because these consume a lot, especially the old ones. We have always been doing conservation measures, we don't wait for the National Government to tell us to conserve energy," Osmeña told reporters Thursday.
30 percent cut
He hopes to cut down by as much as 30 percent the electricity consumption of air-conditioning units of the City Government offices once they get rid of the old ones.
The replacement of some 400-watt streetlamps to 70 watts will also help the City conserve on energy and reduce electricity bills, said the mayor.
Some 3,000 streetlamps have already been replaced.
Osmeña hopes to change the air-conditioning system of both the City Hall legislative building, once its renovation is completed, and the annex building, whose set-up is not conducive to the air-conditioning system being used at present.
The City is currently studying a sophisticated air conditioning system using lithium bromide and water to make offices cooler.
The President said the government has to lead by example in pushing for energy conservation.
"We cannot control the price of oil," Arroyo said. "But we can control our commitment to energy conservation and efficiency measures."
P80M savings eyed
The Philippines imported about 126 million barrels of oil last year, of which 58 percent was for the transport sector.
Arroyo has said she would ask Congress to give her emergency powers to impose drastic conservation measures on the general public, including possible fuel rationing, if necessary.
The government expects to save at least P80 million from the energy conservation measures, Abaya said Wednesday.
Abaya said the figure was based on the amount the government saved when it implemented the four-day workweek scheme in government offices from April to May this year. (AFP/LCR/Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(August 26, 2005 issue)
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