New energy efficiency program to be launched in 2018

AS the Switch to High Efficiency Motors (HEMs) project funded by the European Union would end by December this year, a new project called Leadership and Energy Efficiency Actions in the Philippines (LEEAP) will be launched sometime next year to continue with the electricity efficiency initiatives of HEMs in the country.

HEMs was launched in 2014 with the aim of reducing electricity consumption of local industries in the Philippines.

“The specific objective of this program is to increase the deployment of high-efficiency motors in the Philippine industries. One of the sustainability strategy that is recommended by the European Union is to ensure that even after the program ends in 2017, this coming December, there should be an intermediary. The Energy Service Company (ESCOs) will continue what HEMs has been doing and engaging the different industries and end users to replace their old motors with high-efficien- cy motors,” said project manager Marvin Ryan Bathan.

One of their stakeholders is the Esco, which “acts as project developers for a wide range of tasks and assume the technical and performance risk associated with the project.”

Bathan said in Davao City there are about six to seven Esco partners that HEMs is currently working with. Starting December 2017, the HEMs project will already be terminated which will be followed by

LEEAP, a new project that aims to continue what HEMs has started.

According to Bathan, traditional motors of industrial plants equipment are replaced with high efficiency motors which would help increase energy efficiency of electricity-intensive industries, cut down electricity consumption, and reduce contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

“Actually the cost is higher but what we are trying to advocate is that for consumers not to look at the first cost alone. They should at the economic life of the motors or of the equipment and then consider its total ownership cost because if you do that, then in the long run, your higher efficiency equipment will be the better option and will give you practically a better value for your money,” Bathan said.

The project is targeting about 55 percent of potential of electricity savings of companies that would invest in using highefficiency motors.

The HEMs project assistance include development of financing program, building the capacity of banks to evaluate HEMs investment, and building the capacity of ESCOs and service providers to implement projects among others.

Bathan said with the transition of the project from HEMs to LEEAP, they are looking forward to talking with the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) and the Davao City Investment and Promotions Center (DCIPC) to better implement it.