Government Buildings Save US$1.15 Mln In Electricity Bills, So Far This Year

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Twelve government buildings identified as the biggest consumers of electricity, registered savings of RM3.5 million (US$1.15 million) or 10.3 per cent in power usage, between January and October. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui said, this was achieved after an energy manager was appointed for each building which used more than 3,000,000 kilowatts per hour in six consecutive months, and suggested steps for energy conservation for implementation. Among the buildings are the finance ministry building which recorded savings of 20 per cent and the agriculture and agrobased industry ministry building with 9.8 per cent, he told reporters after meeting with ministry personnel here on Friday. Chin said, they could increase savings by using energy-saving bulbs such as light-emitting diode (LED) or compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), whereby RM800 million could be saved a year, should all buildings be fitted with such bulbs. (US$1=RM3.04) He said the ministry was still discussing with the finance ministry on implementing the change to energy-saving bulbs as it would involve high costs. "We are now looking at working with its producers to come up with their proposal on how they can implement this for the government. "If they can work with us on the implementation, for example, they are paid according to the savings (made from the usage of the bulbs). Then, the government will be able to implement this much faster," he said. Government buildings currently spend more than RM2.7 billion on electricity a year. Meanwhile, Chin said the International GreenTech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference (IGEM) 2012, held for the third time from Oct 10 to 13, recorded an additional 3.6 per cent participants, as compared to last year, with an increase of 13 per cent participation from local companies. He said, there was also a 1.3 per cent increase in booths, but the number of local companies running the booths had increased 31 per cent, as compared to last year. "This shows that more local companies are grabbing the chance to display their products," he added. -- BERNAMA