Businesses to save 23% cost on energy efficient technologies
By Myrna M. Velasco
Businesses that will adopt energy efficient technologies are expected to save more than 20 percent in cost, especially on their energy expenses.
Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian said “we’ve seen some initial data and we’ve seen savings of about 23-percent for businesses if the law (on energy efficiency) is fully implemented.”
On mandate for government agencies to also deploy energy efficient technologies as well as embrace EE and conservation practices in their offices, he noted that the same scale of cost-savings can be realized if the provisions of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act or Republic Act 11285 are seriously enforced.
The lawmaker lamented that half of the provisions of the law are still up for implementation, hence, he has been calling on relevant agencies to step up on the enforcement sphere, so the targeted benefits of the EE&C law can contribute not just to cost reduction of targeted businesses and government entities, but for the country to also shave off requirement on power capacity additions.
“This law is very important because it promotes energy efficiency by mandating certain consumption levels for commercial and industrial corporations and it gives DOE (Department of Energy) a lot of power to implement efficiency and conservation in businesses,” Gatchalian stressed.
Businesses can deploy energy efficient technologies not just on their lighting systems, but also pn other components of their operations – such as in their air-conditioning and heating systems; refrigeration requirements; equipment as well as on office facilities, among others.
Given the potential benefits of the law, Gatchalian primarily called on the DOE “to intensify the information campaign to stir public awareness on the judicious conservation and efficient utilization of energy resources.”
As the department leads National Energy Consciousness Month this December then, the solon likewise reminded energy officials that they are tasked “to develop and undertake a national awareness and advocacy campaign on energy efficiency and conservation in partnership with business, academe, non-government organizations and other sectors.”
And in the celebration of the holidays, Gatchalian apprised the public “to consider using energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs which requires less maintenance and comes out cheaper instead of the traditional incandescent string lights for Christmas decorations.”
He had also offered tips that while electronic gadgets are among the frequently used tools, “it will be better to keep gadgets unplugged when not in use and turn off idle appliances to lower energy consumption and lessen spikes in electricity bills.”