The ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation Sub-sector Network (EE&C-SSN) met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27-28 February 2018 for the post meeting of the ASEAN-Japan Energy Efficiency Partnership (AJEEP) under the Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Work Programme 2017-2018.  The two-day meeting was jointly organised by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and Energy Conservation Centre, Japan (ECCJ) and was hosted by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water of Malaysia (Kementerian Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air/KeTTHA). The Meeting was attended by the EE&C-SSN representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Also in attendance were the certified energy managers from 2018 AJEEP Training of Trainers from eight (8) ASEAN Member States (AMS), representatives from ECCJ and ACE.

The Meeting considered and agreed on the progress on the implementation of AJEEP in 2017-2018. The meeting also exchanged views on the current status of energy management system especially on energy manager training and certification programme including current status of EE&C regulation and policy measures.

Since the implementation of AJEEP programme in 2013, ASEAN and Japan have been continuously expanding and exploring different concepts to promote energy efficiency and conservation (EE&C) and enhance capacity building and improve information dissemination schemes. The AJEEP programme consists of two (2) work schemes, namely: i) AJEEP Scheme 2 which enhances  capacities for  energy manager training and certification system in the AMS; and ii)   AJEEP Scheme 3 which supports the development of EE&C policies and regulations for Cambodia and Lao PDR.

The meeting emphasised the need to continue building on progress of energy management training for energy managers to accelerate and adopt energy management system in buildings and industry. In anticipation of future challenges, the meeting encouraged the continuation of regional cooperation for setting up a sustainable training system for energy managers. The meeting discussed at length the integration of AJEEP Training of Trainers and the ASEAN Energy Management System (AEMAS). The meeting felt the need to establish a link between the two (2) programmes to maximise the impact and effectiveness of the programmes in enhancing the capacity of energy managers in ASEAN.

Towards this direction, the ACE’s Executive Director, Dr. Sanjayan Velautham, shared his views that the improvement in the rational use of energy is an essential contribution to the energy intensity target reduction as asserted in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016-2020. He stated that energy management is one tool to promote the realisation of EE&C in all economic sectors.  He ensures that ACE will continue the regional programme on energy management training that aims to increase the quality and quantity of energy managers in the region.

The ASEAN EE&C-SSN Focal Points expressed their appreciation on the collaboration between ACE and ECCJ on the successful implementation of AJEEP in 2017-2018 according to the plan, timeline and deliverables. They lauded AJEEP as a comprehensive framework of activities to support in narrowing the development gap among AMS through energy management training, capacity building, as well as policy and regulation development. (RJPS.  featured photo credit:  KeTTHA)