SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVED VIA ENERGY EFFICIENCY(SAVE) PROGRAM -THE ORIGIN

OFFICIAL LOGOS OF SAVE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH AND MALAY LANGUAGES FOR CAMPAIGN AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS

BRIEFLY ABOUT SAVE PROGRAM

The SAVE Programme was created and is funded by the Government under the Economic Transformation Programme to stimulate the economy. The SAVE Programme is under Entry Point Project 9 and improving energy efficiency has been identified as a key criteria to boost the economy development in Malaysia.

Under the SAVE Programme, there are five key pillars:

1.   “Government Leading by example” on energy-efficient practises and philosophy

2.   Stimulating the sales of energy efficient appliances

3.   Making co-generation economically viable

4.   Improved regulation on building insulation

5.   Stimulating the sales of energy-efficient vehicles

For 2011, the first initiative under SAVE  is  a rebate Program for energy efficient air-conditioners, refrigerators and commercial chillers. This initiative addresses Pillar #2 of the SAVE Programme which is to stimulate the sale of energy efficient appliances.

The initiative targets the final end user through retailers of electronic appliances and will generate up to 7,300GWh of energy saving by 2020. For the nation, this means a GNI of up to RM5.1 billion by 2020.

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This SAVE program will remain as one of the best memories in my career in promoting energy efficiency. The acronym SAVE itself came from me originally for the purpose of branding the EPP9 for OGE because my thought that time, it would be hard to recognize EPP9 out of over 120 EPPs in ETP.

I must thank to those in KeTTHA and ST who gave me the opportunity and trusted my ability to sit in the NKEA Lab and proposed EE initiatives to be included in the Economic Transformation Program.

I will write more about the program itself from my own perspective since all other public information about it can be referred in www.saveenergy.gov.my. It has been very interesting and challenging journey for me since I was involved from the very beginning until it was finally launched. Here I would like to share more insight about the program, my thoughts about it  and how I experienced it personally.

Here I would like to share how the program was...

• originated
• discussed
• debated
• argued
• rejected 
• re proposed
• and finally  approved to be in ETP Document as launched by PM in October  2010

Then...

• the process of developing its implementation mechanisms and procedures
• the launching by YB Minister on 7 July 2011
• the awareness and promotional programs
• implement the program 
• dealing with responses from public, retailers and critics 
• And finally assessing the impacts again the intended targets (the time that I left the project to explore different perspective of EE as an industry player).

NKEA Lab: Oil, Gas and Energy Sector (Jun - July 2010)

Venue: MAS Academy Kelana Jaya

Task: To propose and convince PEMANDU to include EE as one of the viable projects in ETP on behalf of the government (KeTTHA)

With Mr. Lal Chand while we were working on EPP9 at NKEA Lab in June-July 2010

Together with Mr. Lal Chand, we managed to convince PEMANDU to include EE in ETP with key initiatives as documented under Entry Point Project 9(EPP9) in Oil, Gas and Energy (OGE) in ETP. Comparatively the total GNI contribution from EPP9 is relatively small compare to other EPPs under OGE since we were grouped together  in the same industries like energy sources exploration and oil&gas processing  with worth in hundreds billion of RM  but we believe that there were strong reasons the inclusion of EE was important to be a part of ETP.

I came to the lab equipped with my full awareness and knowledge about the development of EE in Malaysia due to my direct  involvement with other ongoing key strategic initiatives such as

· the National EE Master Plan and policy study (NEEMP was targeted to be introduced in 2011)

·      the plan to ban incandescent lamps by 2014

·  the development and implementation of standards and labelling for electrical equipment

·      regulatory and enforcement of existing EE law

That in-depth information enabled me to think and discussed it with the team of  other experts in the lab. Then we have to find the best possible fit for EE to be in line with the whole targets of ETP to give immediate impacts to the economy and also later could be sustained with more support measures until 2020 and beyond.

In general, the 5 key initiatives for EE in EPP9 were designed for 3 year period in the first phase of the implementation which requires some allocations from the government for a kick-off. When the budget was proposed, it went through an evaluation process at outlined by PEMANDU,MoF and EPU. 

Among the key guides and  criteria for EPPs as required by PEMANDU were:

Inputs

·      Direction set in core economic policies & plans

o  New Economic Model  Part 1

o  Malaysia plans

·      Other core documents

o  Vision 2020 document

·      Foundational sector-specific master plans e.g. industrial Master Plan 3, Capital Markets Master Plan

Design principles  

·      Emphasize private investment-led projects over publicly funded initiatives…

·      by strengthening the sector fundamentals and moving to commercially-oriented activities

·      With higher value-added and drawing on innovative, cutting-edge ideas within NKEAs…

·      that allow Malaysia to reduce dependence on:

o  Resource-intensive sources of growth

o  Foreign workers as a key source of unskilled labour

Rationales

·      Support fiscal consolidation and prudence (Reducing the Federal Government budget deficit)

·      Ensure Government debt sustainability

·      Achieve greater productivity of resources 

·      Generate multiplier effects

o   Boost Malaysia’s competitiveness and make inroads into the global markets

o   Ensure sustainable growth beyond 2020

o   Improve livelihood of bottom 40% households

                

Added to the above, each initiative in EPPs must have its owner and dedicated entity for the implementation.

Each EPP is expected to contribute certain value of GNI including  jobs to be created from each activity that  need to be implemented at specified time frame to achieve the overall goals of ETP.

It was a two months works with everyone selected to represent as an expert or as key resource person and grouped into 12 NKEA labs. 

We started our discussions, consultations and meetings within the lab and with key stakeholders as early as 8 a.m in the morning with relatively no particular time to stop. Everyone was given the tasks to produce something to be brought to the next stages for evaluation by other group at different levels within PEMANDU and team of specialized consultants.

Initial summary of EPP9 and its key initiatives 

In short, every EPP has gone through rigorous assessments from all angles such as practicality, implementable, economically viable, acceptance by key stakeholders and industry players and etc.On top of that, EPPs also were  presented by PEMANDU to be vetted  by the central agencies such  MoF, EPU and relevant ministries to gauge their feedback and inputs.Then each EPP was  presented again to these agencies after actions taken based on feedback and  input given  and finally to be tabled to  the committee which was chaired by the PM for the consideration and approval to be included in ETP.

We had very  tough and challenging  times from the beginning to justify every single RM for EE budget mainly due to lack of understanding of key decision makers at the higher levels. The fact is, we could hardly see them look at EE as one of strategic agenda that needed for the country as we try to grow our economy to become a high income economy. There was a moment when some high level officers from the government said  it  straight to my face 

HOW COULD WE GROW OUR ECONOMY IF WE SAVE OUR ENERGY? 

WHY SHOULD WE SAVE ENERGY WHEN OUR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY PLENTY OF RESERVE MARGIN?

I was not shocked at all to hear all that since my experiences over the years showed me that he and she was not alone thinking that way and we just need to continue convincing them with more facts and successful examples on how EE could be as important as other industry in our economic development as proven in other countries.

Initial summary of all proposed EPPs for alternative energy

There was a time where EE almost taken off from the EPP lists but  the everyone involved in the lab put their efforts together, it was finally accepted. In the process, I was in constant pressure to ensure all is well communicated to the key agencies like KeTTHA and ST through the arrangement of dialogue and briefing sessions together with very dedicated officers from PEMANDU and experts from McKinsey  to get their buy-in.

It was a big accomplishment for us in the lab especially the team  that fought our way to pull it through and when EE was finally and officially approved to be   documented in the ETP, I knew, the real  works was just started and it would not be a walk in park for anyone who will be involved in it. What was proposed and agreed actually just the key concepts and basic strategies for the implementation with detailed mechanisms and approaches will be addressed by owners assigned for each EPP later which will be monitored by PEMANDU according to the proposed time frame.

For the implementation of EPP9, it was proposed and later agreed the owner will be KeTTHA and key agency is ST and to be supported by other relevant organizations such as utility companies, SIRIM and etc.

In that two months period, key stakeholders and other high level decision makers came for planned and also unplanned visits to labs that they have interests. There were also scheduled visit by the PM and briefings by each lab to him at the lab itself on the major progress and accomplishments for each NKEA or EPP at the development stage. 

A visit by PM and Minister at the lab

A briefing by the representative from the lab to PM, Ministers and other high level officers

When each initiative in EPP9 was designed and proposed to PEMANDU, myself and Mr. Lal Chand were thinking about measures that would give quick impacts, proven to be effective as implemented in successful countries in EE and also with reasonable budget which would give less resistance to the decision makers to accept. What we did was by looking into some existing EE measures that being planned to be implemented but  need some policy directives to get the green light.The strategy was to use ETP as a platform to put EE in the mainstream agenda of the country which would require parties related to the implementation of EE measures to give their commitment.

2010 was the year that NEEMP planned to be finalized and both of us had that in-depth knowledge about the key findings and proposed key strategic  initiatives in the initial draft NEEMP document. When we looked at that initiatives, there were some of  them  could be implemented without the endorsement of the final NEEMP document and what needed were just some allocation of budget and commitment by certain parties to implement it. 

That was our  key considerations when we proposed  initiatives such as rebate programs for energy efficient electrical appliances and equipment, implementing of energy management system and energy conservation measures at government buildings and energy efficient insulation for buildings as among the earlier  initiatives to kick-start EPP9 implementation in 2011. 

Based the development of EE at the time, we believe the proposed initiatives would be sufficient to enhance the awareness of EE among the public and prepare the market related industry players such as manufacturers and retailers before the introduction of NEEMP which was targeted in 2011. All initiatives proposed in EPP9 were to be implemented on voluntary basis  and while some of them will become mandatory gradually with the implementation of NEEMP at the later stage.

Finally ETP was launched in October 2010 and me with Mr Lal Chand were involved in ETP Open Days  to answers queries and receive feedback from key stakeholders, industry players and the general public.

With the CEO of PEMANDU, Datuk Seri Idris Jalan at the ETP Open day , PWTC  in October 2010

 I had the opportunity to participate in two of the open days after the launching of ETP in Kuala Lumpur and also in Kota Kinabalu.

It was another great and memorable experiences too when I had the chance to explain and answer questions from all walks of life about ETP which was very new to visitors at the open days and to other Malaysians too.

Sweet and proud moment with NKEA OGE Lab members with Datuk Seri Idris Jala at the end of the open day ,PWTC in Oct 2010

With great friends from NKEA OGE  Lab at the open day to asnwer questions about initiatives proposed by the lab in ETP.

The keynotes from the CEO of PEMANDU at the ETP open day in Kota Kinabalu

With En. Siraj, the leader of NKEA OGE Lab at the open day in Kota Kinabalu

Below are the members of NKEA OGE Lab and it was great to works and communicate with all of them with deep knowledge and  expertise from various industry  and disciplines from OGE sector. It was a small recognition for our contribution by having all of our names at the back of ETP book launched by the PM but what really meant a lot for each us were the experience and opportunity to work together for a better Malaysia through the ETP which  all of us may or may  not be able to witness its achievements in 2020.

No	Organisation	Name in detail
1	PETRONAS	Amir Harudin
2	PETRONAS	Ezrin Johanna  Elias
3	PETRONAS	Ibrahim Mohamed
4	PETRONAS	Khairool Anwar Laksamana
5	PETRONAS	Masnizah Supu
6	PETRONAS	Mohd Azam Yusoff
7	PETRONAS	Norhayati Hashim
9	Petronas	Farehana Bt Hj Hanapiah
2	Dialog Group	Ng Chong Wah
3	EPU	Mohamad Azhar Ashkar Ali
4	ExxonMobil	Zainal A Ahmad
5	Murphy Sarawak Oil Co., Ltd.	Abdul Karim Mohamed Yunus (now deceased)
6	Petronas	Haida Shenny Hazri
7	Petronas	Marina Taib
8	Schlumberger	Fabian Loh Fook Hoy
9	Shell	Ahmad Zaidi Bin Julaihi
10	Shell	Zharin Binti Zhafrael Mohamed
11	Talisman Energy	Norlina Omar
12	MATRADE	Zaimah Osman
13	MISC	Rozainah Awang
14	MITI	Gan Mui Huei
15	Petronas	Aadrin Azly
16	SapuraCrest	Shaharel Bin Shafiei
17	Schlumberger	Gordon Goh Kim Fah
18	Scomi / MOGSC	Shahreen Madros
19	RE/MBIPV Project,	Lalchand Gulabrai
	KeTTHA
20	RE/MBIPV Project,	Gladys Mak Sow Lin
	KeTTHA
21	MIDA	Masni Muhammad
22	MIGHT	Nashiruddin Mohd Tahir
23	Nuclear Malaysia	Jamal Khaer Bin Ibrahim
24	Sarawak Ministry of Public Utilities	Syed Mohamad Fauzi Shahab
25	Sarawak State Planning Unit	Marie Cotilla Louise @ Rozita Kulai
26	Suruhanjaya Tenaga	Endang Jati Bt Mat Sahid
27	Suruhanjaya Tenaga	Zaini bin Abdul Wahab
28	TNB	Amir Hisham Hashim
29	Wah Seong Corp	Mohamed Siraj Abdul Razack

Below are some of the photos  during our own celebration dinner with the NKEA OGE lab members at Nelayan Restaurant Titiwangsa, KL  after the open day in PWTC. Al-fatihah to our great friend from the Lab, Allahyarham Abdul Karim Mohamed Yunus from Murphy Sarawak Oil who was passed away due to heart problem few months after that.

I will share more ...insyaAllah
...on the development of  the implementation mechanisms with many other great and dedicated people from many entities...
I hope I can make the time for me to share more about the SAVE program and how its achievement went beyond the intended targets.

EE Governance...key findings on EE policies by International Energy Agency

Here I would like to share some information and my personal views  on the development of EE governance in Malaysia based on the presentation by Mr. Robert Tromop, Head of Energy Efficiency Unit in the International Energy Agency at IGEM 2012, KLCC. 

I believe he has the right credentials to speak about the given topic since he informed us that he personally invited by the Secretary General of the ministry to have have that special session at IGEM 2012 to talk about EE policies and governance for countries. 

Among the participants in the workshop by Mr. Tromop were the Secretary General of the ministry and other officers from related organizations  such as Energy Commission, SEDA  Malaysia, TNB, SIRIM, MAESCO, some universities and etc.

I was a very interesting session when Mr. Tromop shared findings from studies by IEA for may years and at many countries on EE policies and gave his views openly and independently especially when he answered questions and responded to remarks from the audience. 

With Robert Tromop, Head of  EE Unit, IEA at  IGEM 2012 KLCC

Here I extracted some of his presentation slides which I believe were key areas that need to be given due attention for a successful and sustainable implementation of EE initiatives in Malaysia. 

Most of the slides presented by Mr. Tromop were self explanatory especially for those who have been involved in energy efficiency at various levels and programs. He was again reiterated some key points that many local and international experts pointed out to the government on the governing of EE but yet to receive the much desired responses and productive actions.

EE Governance

The above figure clearly shows what are the key elements to govern EE in any country comprehensively.Are all that so new most of us who were in that workshop ? My answer is NO since what was summarized by Mr. Tromop is not something that has been shared by many other EE experts    for many years in many similar events. On top of that, findings from the National EE Master Plan(NEEMP) Study by local and international EE experts carried out in 2009-2010 indicated almost the same conclusions.

I did ask Mr. Tromop on the top 3 components namely Enabling Frameworks, Institutional Arrangements and Coordination Mechanisms, do we need all of them  and his answer was YES, all of them must be there all the time at the same time to have a really good start. It would be similar to the sub components under the main components as well since they are required to ensure EE implementation could be sustained and leading towards achieving the intended targets for the nation. 

EE Law

Some may argue that why do we need another law for EE. Do we enough  existing law that can be utilized to get what we really want to see in EE development? Yes  we have some laws but the issue here is, is there anyone looking into it and trying hard enough to utilize it or to make it usable for regulate EE implementation? Who is suppose to do that and for the past 20 years, what have achieved with the current law and organizational regulatory setup on energy?

A dedicated EE law has been proven as one of the key policy instruments for a successful and sustainable implementation of EE in many countries. Are we trying to be naive or we are just to arrogant to follow good things that have been proven worked in many economies in the world on how to approach EE for their respective country.

I strongly believe the recent move by the ministry to stop drafting the EE Act was another step that will bring us backward. To make it worst that move was taken without at other plan on how to make a big leap for EE development as an alternative other than as recommended in the Draft NEEMP. To prove that, basically there has been almost ZERO new  development  on the strategic policy and actions on EE for Malaysia in the whole 2012 when most of the time was used by some people in the  policy making side to bicker among themselves about their personal agendas.

Sadly to say that, we saw only much promises and individuals to disrupt the good development in EE  rather than productive actions which are urgently needed strategically that will improve our approach towards EE.

I was involved at various stages of the development of the Draft NEEMP for Malaysia.It started from the early idea to have the NEEMP study in 2008, then the development of the Term of Reference for the study, the study by the consultants appointed and finally reviewing the report submitted  as a member in the technical evaluation committee at the ministry from 2009 until 2010 when I was the   Head of Demand Side Management in Energy Commission.

The progress of the Draft NEEMP has been quite unique to me since it was developed after going through different level of reviews and by different group of people involved in EE in Malaysia and some foreign experts.

Firstly, the consultant appointed by the Ministry in the form of a consortium comprising established EE experts from Malaysia  and  among the leading energy economists and EE technical experts from Japan.

Secondly , another established EE expert from Denmark was appointed for the purpose of having an independent review of the findings and recommendations in the report and to look at key areas and numbers that could be be worth  it to be reviewed to come up with improved plan.

Then finally, in the end of 2010, the reviewed plan was reviewed again by another group of EE experts from APEC under the APEC Peer Review for Energy Efficiency for participated member countries. Details of the findings and recommendations can be accessed at http://www.ieej.or.jp/aperc/PREE/PREE_Malaysia.pdf.

That review by APEC was carried out by another group of EE experts especially from Japan, USA and Singapore.

Energy Commission is now the lead agency for EE in Malaysia as decided and announced by the ministry in one of the EE seminars recently and but until today no one has any idea what does that meant. My understanding is EC is continue what they have been doing for many years with no clear goals and targets at certain time frame.  So, we are now back where we  were before despite there are some practical and achievable  EE initiatives recommended in the draft NEEMP document which do not require additional fund  or new  law  for EE to be introduced. However, to be fair, everyone now will have to wait for EC to prepare and later announce their plan as a lead agency for EE in the country

Several options have been recommended in the draft plan and reviewed few times based on feedback from various parties in order to make it more realistic but at present I cannot see anyone is seriously looking into it. Many  proven mechanisms and practices could be considered to ease the funding burden from the government but require collective efforts and understanding to ensure the  NEEMP implementation will be sustainable but what we need now is the champion at the policy making side to convince the government.

Various engagements have been carried out in the development of Draft NEEMP for Malaysia with key stakeholders in EE but the draft has been asked to be reviewed again due to personal opinions.

Example of countries that have introduced their strategic plans for EE implementation. What is taking Malaysia so long until today?

The final version of the NEEMP is still a confidential document but some of the key findings and recommendations have been presented by the ministry at several  sessions with key stakeholders such as related government ministries and agencies, industry & professional associations, NGOs, consumer groups and etc in 2011.

From what have been shared, key findings and recommendations for NEEMP were not  much different from what have been faced and happened in many other countries when they started to embark on long-term EE initiatives in more sustainable manner.

Something that may be  different compare to them for Malaysia is about the nature of of energy prices which is heavily subsidized and level of authorities on energy that placed at different government entities.

What I could recall from those  presentations  about some of the key barriers for EE in Malaysia are as follows:

• Lack of overall national level plan for energy efficiency that can be referred by all energy using sectors
• Lack of consistency in embarking on the energy efficiency
• Lack of legal and regulatory framework for energy efficiency
• Lack of champion to drive the introduction of strategic energy efficiency  plan
• Low energy prices due to government subsidies
• Lack of sustainable funding sources and financing mechanisms for energy efficiency projects and programs

The above findings is shared by all the three EE expert groups that involved in the development and reviewing the Draft NEEMP.

The failure to have common targets and goals for EE at the national level will lead towards uncoordinated individual  and organizational efforts which may end up in many parties doing the same thing at smaller scales with less or insignificant  impacts to be seen and measured to convince the majority to take part.

Key points on the importance evaluation of impacts from EE programs

Key recommendations in the draft NEEMP are basically as counter measures to overcome the identified barriers and those measures were again, confirmed and very well outlined by Mr. Tromop in his presentation based on findings by IEA on how to govern EE in a country. The draft NEEMP  document is actually a comprehensive outline of the governance of EE in Malaysia. I could not say that is a perfect document but should be comprehensive enough as guide for the country to make  significant change forward in EE. 

There have been some questions and arguments of some of the key numbers especially on the key indicators such as energy saving targets in energy consumption, generation capacity and etc but these number can be reviewed and discussed to come up with numbers that all stakeholders will be comfortable with.

My conclusion is  Malaysia would not be able to get different or better  results from EE initiatives with the way EE has been governing now and this has been a practice for many many years with no clear policy. EE efforts have been implemented mainly on project basis with no clear steps to be taken upon the completion of each project. 

I remember being asked some EE related questions at some public event at international level as a government officer where I would be happy to answer on how many EE projects implemented in Malaysia over the years because we have implemented many indeed. My trouble always when trying answer any EE question on how much Malaysia has achieved from all EE projects that already implemented because I do not  have the answer and I do not think anyone in Malaysia would any definite answer too. Why? It is  simply because no one is accountable for evaluating the impacts of all those EE initiatives and we can get all sorts of numbers from many sources which no one could verify and stand with it.

We need to have the EE Policy and then to be followed by the creation of a Legal and Regulatory Framework for EE implementation with clearly defined national goals and target. This EE policy will serve as a common goal for everyone on what we would like to achieve for our EE efforts in the country.

To do that we also need to have a Centralized Agency for Energy Efficiency which will be fully accountable for EE implementation with required competencies to lead EE industry with their assistance and on -going support measures to all energy using sectors. 

We need to have a well developed Funding and Financial Mechanisms which we have a plenty of options that can be explored, considered and then introduced. 

While having all the above, we need to continue to carry out  capacity building and training programs to produce more EE professionals to support EE  implementation  through on-going  education and awareness programs.

I strongly believe the above 4 areas are key thrusts of implementing EE initiatives for Malaysia as already proven in many countries and again highlighted in the presentation by Mr. Robert Tromop from IEA.