PUTRAJAYA, January 29th 2013: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has been officially awarded the Energy Management Gold Standard (EMGS) 2nd Star rating under the ASEAN Energy Management Scheme (AEMAS).
The EMGS 1-Star rating is awarded to companies that have implemented the energy management system, upon an audit by AEMAS auditors. Such companies have an energy manager, a company-wide energy management committee, and have implemented the entire energy management system.
The Two Stars is awarded to companies that have shown improvement in their energy efficiency index resulting from implementation of energy conservation measures. The Three Stars goes to companies that have achieved and maintained their energy efficiency improvement for at least three years.
This is the first ever 2nd Star recognition awarded to any organisation in ASEAN that include companies, government institutions, universities and other public and commercial entities.
The decision has been made after a rigorous energy management system audit conducted in UTM on the 14-15 January, 2013 by the AEMAS audit team. The audit findings certified that the UTM-Energy Management System has been continuously implemented, and more importantly, energy savings have been sustained through the establishment of energy policy, integration of energy management into the organisation’s structure and practice, research and development into creative and innovative energy management solutions, widespread technology dissemination and ultimately implementation of a wide range of energy improvement measures in order to sustain energy efficiency practices and hence, cost savings.
By embracing the culture of conservation, creativity and innovation and with the strong support from the top management, UTM has managed to achieve an average 10% reduction in its energy efficiency index for the year 2011 and 2012 in comparison to the baseline year of 2009.
This is equaivalent to an annual savings of 6 million kWh for the years 2011 & 2012, or a total monetary savings of RM4.5 million between the year 2010 and 2012.
Energy-saving initiatives began in UTM as far back as 2003, when the facilities maintenance team improved power usage at the library with the help of an energy services company (ESCO) which provided the investments, and subsequently shared the savings.
Early last year, an in-house energy management committee with representation from all units in UTM was set up to provide, among other things, training on sustainable energy management (SEM) and to develop energy managers.
UTM started investing in energy-efficient products in the mid-2007. Some of the initiatives taken by the team include:
• Retrofitting the air-conditioning system by implementing variable refrigerant volume (VRV) in many faculties and buildings
• Lighting retrofits, which included de-lamping and installation of high efficiency T5 and super T8 lights
• Maximum demand management, which involves shifting load so as to reduce maximum demand.
• Capitalising on off-peak tariff rate (OPTR) discount. Starting July 19th 2011, UTM gets a 20% discount on its power bill if it saves about RM80,000 monthly. A number of electrical appliances are run during off-peak hours
* Utilising its in-house Online Energy Billing and Management System (EBMS) to communicate and provide up-to-date information to all stakeholders on the campus
• Power quality improvement. This involves, among others, maintaining a high power factor and monitoring harmonics value for the main electrical feeders.
Most of these measures are carried out with in-house expertise. In 2013, UTM is committed towards intensifying their efforts seek creative and innovative solutions for energy savings. Towards this end, UTM plans to distribute RM100, 000 incentives to the units that have managed to save energy.
UTM also aims to re-invest up to RM500, 000 of the cost savings in phases to ensure that the energy management initiatives can be sustained. UTM also plans to organise a regional workshop for the ASEAN region to showcase the UTM’s experience in implementing sustainable Energy Management.
UTM as an entrepreneurial Research University, will spare no effort in generating innovative products and services, preaching the best practices, and relentlessly practicing what it preaches!