Effectiveness of REEMs in Malaysia (Part 2): Key Actors

Personally, there are companies send me enquiries on REEM services that I am also offering as one of our consultancy services. I would say almost all of them just interested to appoint REEM for the purpose of compliance only and looking for the "best price" which normally the cheapest price.

Some of them already received warning notices but still do not take it as an urgent matter yet.Why? I will try to elaborate on the later or sometime in the future posts  since my focus now in on REEM.

Both REEMs and affected companies need to be guided and the only party who can do that is the regulator itself because what is happening now is the true spirit of EMEER 2008 is not fully understood for them to see the positive impacts that could be resulted from the enforcement of the law. There must me a scynchronized efforts among the regulator, REEMs and affected companies to act on roles as specified in the law  for us to see the actual desired impacts from the introduction of EMEER 2008.

The diagram below summarized roles that need to be played by each actor in EMEER 2008 implementation to enable the law to achieve its objectives.


Relationship and roles of key actors in EMEER 2008 implementation

Obviously the biggest roles that need to be played is by the regulator especially in the early part of the implementation. The regulator must have strong and competent EE capacity within the organization to enable them to perform their functions effectively especially when installations and REEMs refer to them for clarity about provisions in the law and assistance on how to practically move towards the compliance.

The other biggest challenge of the regulator is to create significant interest among the technical people to apply to become REEM, to register them and to ensure REEMs will play their roles after that. With less than 200 REEMs registered at this moment, it definitely insufficient for the market and with many of REEMs are based on their existing workplace as a full time employees, the total number of REEM that would be able to ensure at least the compliance is far less than enough. This has already created unhealthy environment in REEM market when the demand is too much more than the supply where some REEMs are willing to rush the quantity rather than the quality of services delivered.

On-going campaign to increase awareness on the potential of new carrer and business opportunities is required to attract more EE professionals, practitioners and others with related EE working experience to apply to become REEM.

To become REEM under EMEER 2008, you do not have to a technical specialist or specialized in other areas in EE.Then, appointment of REEM by any company for the purpose of compliance only will not gurantee any energy cost reduction yet. However, being a specialist in certain areas especially on how to identify and implement energy cost saving measures definitely will bring more values to companies appointed them as REEM at their facilities. I will try to share some tips in my future postings on how easy to become REEM is you already met the qualification requirements and experiences in energy efficiency.
REEMs normally will ask  and share information and experiences their fellow REEMs on what they actually do to secure , deliver their services and to maintain their clients. Meanwhile companies will normally refer to the regulator to confirm about the requirements to compy and then REEMs in the market to gauge what  type of services could be offered and fees.Companies also will ask other companies and finally they will decide based on their actual needs to appoint REEM. Without a proper advise and guidelines, companies may end  up appointing REEM with their own reasons and not in tandem with the objectives of EMEER 2008 implementation. This scenario must closely monitored by the regulator and to close the gaps on different perceptions and assumptions by companies and REEMs about complying towards EMEER 2008.

The general understanding about EMEER 2008 is they need to implement energy saving measures which is not totally correct since the focus of the law is on the management of energy at  the affected installations. This is where the regulator need to explain clearly and extensively to them that the law is not all about energy savings. EMEER 2008 is actually focusing on the management component of total energy management solutions which also cover the technical component which direcly related to energy saving measures.When the energy resources is being managed efficiently, it will subsequently wil result in identifying ways to eliminate wastage that will improve energy resources utilization in the facilities.

To put so much emphasis on energy savings will create the impression of quickly to jump into possible immediate measures to be impelemented if they need to comply to EMEER 2008 and measures can be quickly associated with costs to implement too which shift the attention to EE technologies(products).