$500m energy savings: Let's walk the talk

ENERGY conservation is a concept that currently sounds alien among Bruneians as they are being provided supply at a heavily subsidised rate so much so that it does not hurt their pockets even when they use it inefficiently and incur a lot of wastage. According to the Department of Electrical Services (DES), Brunei's approximately 400,000 residents consume electricity equal to a country with a million residents.

Against this background, the revelation by the Centre for Policy and Strategy Studies (CSPS) that Brunei can make energy savings worth about half a billion dollars a year is an eye-opener (The Brunei Times, Nov 17, 2010). This was revealed at a forum to discuss the findings in an energy study by Japanese consultancy Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) in the context of how Brunei can formulate policies to achieve the nation's Vision 2035 goals.

The MRI proposed Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) measures as the means to achieve such savings. The six-month study commissioned by CSPS sees a 56 per cent reduction in energy consumption by 2035 to total about $500 million amount in savings. A CSPS officer admitted that these groundbreaking statistics were estimates and that they should be treated as such.

The preliminary findings of the study see the savings generated through technological measures such as improvements in power generation efficiency, more efficient electrical appliances such as air conditioners and fuel-efficient vehicles, said senior researcher at CSPS, Dr Diana Cheong, who added that an EEC-conscious culture should be cultivated in all sectors as well as individuals to help achieve the goals.

The CSPS press release also mentioned an encouraging response from participants including government officials and representatives of various agencies calling for action including the introduction of appropriate tariffs and subsidies to encourage energy conscious and green building codes and EEC awareness education. A roadmap to address these issues is also due for completion by the start of 2011, says the CSPS. However, there was real concern that the benchmark data presented by MRI, though seen as "impressive and very satisfactory", may not lead to affirmative action and that nothing may come of them and they would just gather dust on the shelf.

The current state of conspicuous consumption in terms of the nation's Brunei energy resources in the light of the heavy subsidies that provide supply at far below market prices will not be tenable in the long term. There will come a time when Bruneians will have to buckle up and bite the bullet, so to speak. But do we have to wait for the precipice before we are shocked into action?

As for power, the MRI interim study shows significant 76 per cent losses in the generation, transmission and distribution of of power compared to losses of only 53 per cent for Japan. There is thus room for improvement. Cheong says, based on calculations, Brunei needs to grow at six per cent per annum to achieve the goals of Vision 2035 and we have to agree that we cannot carry on business as usual if we wish to achieve our goals.