Pilot lighting project to save government P4-M a year

In line with its efforts to promote energy efficiency, the Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a pilot project of the International Finance Corp. (IFC)-managed Efficient Lighting Initiatives (ELI) that will save the government some P4 million a year.

The project, to be conducted in the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) building, will involve the replacement of some 13,000 lighting fixtures of DBP into efficient lighting systems or ELI-qualified compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

ELI country director Alexander Ablaza said the project will likely commence in the early part of next year. "We are finalizing the credit and procurement facility that we will use," he said. "This is a model ESCO (energy service company) transaction to do a major demonstration in an old building," he said.

ELI consultant Federico Ortiz III said if the project is replicated in other government-owned corporations, the government could save up to P500 million to P1 billion a year.

"The government should explore other areas where it can save a lot of money. This is one area they can look at," Ortiz said.

Although DBP will spend some P12 million for the project, Ortiz said this could be recovered in three years with the expected P4 million a year savings from electricity usage because of the utilization of CFLs.

In June this year, the DOE, the DBP and the IFC-ELI signed a pact to open doors of opportunity for the growing energy efficiency practitioners such as the ESCO industry.

ESCO is a business enterprise that develops, installs, and finances projects designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce operations and maintenance costs for its customer’s facilities.

ELI, on the other hand, is a global advocacy program funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and administered worldwide by the IFC, the investment arm of the World Bank.

ELI seeks to reduce the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emission through efficient lighting systems. It also engages in transaction support activities in conjunction with its other awareness efforts to help the government and the consumer enjoy the benefit of efficient lighting systems. – Donnabelle Gatdula