All buildings to self-audit energy efficiency: New law

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With an aim of securing energy supplies, the government is drafting a regulation on energy conservation that is expected to push commercial and industrial building management to start saving energy voluntarily, an official said.

The head of the energy conservation sub-directorate at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Indarti, said Tuesday the draft mandated an energy manager to audit total energy usage for all buildings and report it to the ministry every six months.

"An energy manager must know total energy waste for the building. The ministry will scrutinize it and give recommendations so buildings and plants can save energy without decreasing productivity."

The recommendations will vary with buildings' energy infrastructure in terms of cost implications, she added.

Indarti said the ministry wouldn't require reports from buildings that used only a small amount of energy.

The draft is expected to be completed next year, she said.

At present, energy audit responsibilities fall wholly on government. So far this year the ministry has examined energy usage at 68 buildings and 132 plants. Next year, when the energy audit budget drops to Rp 4 billion (US$431,732) from a current Rp 22 billion, it will examine only 16 buildings and 28 plants.

Tunggul Sirait of the Indonesian Electricity Society said the government would set up a national energy board to promote energy conservation. It will be chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and include representatives from industry and universities, as well as technological experts, he said.

The board is mandated by a 2007 national energy law -- Law 30 -- intended to provide a framework for conservation and renewable energy.

Conservation, according to managing director of electricity management company PT Schneider Indonesia Eddy Tjahja, was the most efficient way to ensure that energy would be there when needed.

"We can save by up to 35 percent of total energy consumption if we use electricity efficiently," he said.

Some industries, including textiles and hospitality, say they have been using special devices and monitoring their utility bills to help conserve energy since electricity costs went up in 2006. (adt)