The official launch of the Energy Forum was held in the Council Chamber, City of Cape Town, and attended by around 170 people. The three main speakers were Colin Devenish, Executive Manager Services & Security at the V&A, Chris Davey, Regional Technical Manager, Old Mutual Property Investments, and Valerie Geen, National Business Initiative’s Director for Climate and Energy.

Colin Devenish, Executive Manager Services & Security at the V&A Waterfront shared the ways in which the ‘Waterfront’ is working hard and fast toward more efficient use of resources in its electricity, air conditioning, landscaping and waste management practices.

His basic rules are simple and ‘followable’:

• Make utility management part of staff members’ key performance areas
• Set the example
• Don’t try to do everything at once - have a plan
• Base your actions on a sound business case
• Pick the low hanging fruits, and develop a track record
• Report on savings internally
• Meter, Meter, and Meter, then analyse and act
• Benchmark (kl/m2, VA/m2, kWh/m2), and prioritise
  

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Chris Davey, Regional Technical Manager, Old Mutual Property Investments, discussed three examples in which shopping centres (Cavendish Square, Menlyn Park Shopping Centre and Gateway Theatre of Shopping Centre) were able to save millions of rands and kilowatts through more efficient and effective HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems.

HVAC is responsible for up to 60% of energy consumption in a building, but with improved HVAC performance, and interventions such as the installation of control mechanisms such as variable speed drives, dramatic savings are able to be made.
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Valerie Geen, National Business Initiative’s Director for Climate and Energy, presented an introduction to NBI’s Energy Efficiency (EE) Accord, which was initiated in 2005 to support the Energy Efficiency Strategy. More than 50 private sector companies, industry associations and state-owned enterprises have already signed the Accord.

The EE Accord’s strategy aims to reduce environmental pollution and CO₂ emissions, and to improve industry competitiveness and enhance energy security.

Geen also took delegates through the important process of starting the EE journey. Firstly,  admit that you have a problem, she said. South Africa has a ‘problem’ with energy security, electricity pricing, and climate change, all of which pose risks to our business, reputation and regulations.

Next is to determine the scope of the problem, she said, and form an association such as an Energy Forum, Provincial Accord, or technical or working group.

Further steps include soliciting buy-in from executive leadership; conducting an energy audit and baseline study; allocating responsibility in-house; formulating policy or strategy; developing skills; communicating; setting targets and identifying projects; investing; measuring and verifying; and reporting.

The process looks simple, but it’s not always easy, and one of the ways in which we can all hope to improve our success rate is to continue to work with the Energy Forum.
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Download opening and closing presentation given by Sarah Rushmere, Environmental Management Department)

The forum is officially launched, on 21st October 2009

From left to right: Osman Asmal, Director: Environmental Resource Management Dept (ERMD) at City of Cape Town. Cllr Rashid Adams. Cllr Marian Nieuwoudt, Mayco Member: Planning and Environment at City Of Cape Town. Cllr Jo-Anne Simons. Talu Tshivhase, Manager: Electricity Supply at City of Cape Town. Sarah Rushmere, Head: Electricity Efficiency Campaign at City of Cape Town.