Energy monitoring equipment was handed over to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat on Tuesday, 8 March 2016. The equipment, worth more than US$20,000, was donated by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) Programme. The equipment forms part of the development cooperation between the Government of the Federal Republic of German and the Secretariat.
Ms. Carol Corbin, Programme Manager, Administrative Services, received the equipment on the behalf of the Secretariat from Mr. Glynn Morris, Energy Advisor in the GIZ/REETA Programme. The handing over was held on the compound of the Secretariat. The equipment will provide sub metering for monitoring the consumption of electricity by the major devices within the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters Building. The equipment will also enable the collection of detailed temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide data, which is necessary for the monitoring of indoor air quality and comfort.
Energy monitoring is a key activity within the CARICOM Building Energy Efficiency Project (CARICOM BEEP) that has been underway since January 2015. The BEEP concept was developed by the Energy Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat and utilises a protocol that constitutes a “mix” of energy management practices and principles, energy efficiency applications and renewable energy use. In this, the first phase of the CARICOM BEEP, the energy management practices applied have already yielded significant energy and financial savings to the Secretariat. The financial savings are already being reinvested in efficient air conditioning systems, which will generate additional savings. Future phases of the project will include the implementation of efficient lighting devices, insulation to reduce the heating caused by incoming solar radiation, automated energy management controls, building occupancy sensors, and solar power generation.
Through the use of the energy monitoring equipment, the CARICOM Secretariat will have better quality data and information related to the building’s energy use and can identify, at any point in time, how much electricity is being used and the consumption of major devices within the building. This will improve the ability of the facilities managers to better respond to excessive and inefficient usage, thereby improving the energy management practices that are already being applied and providing “greater control” over consumption and costs.
The high cost of energy is of concern to the Executive Management of the CARICOM Secretariat. Paying the energy bills continues to divert funds from other areas, necessary for the efficient operation of the organisation. The CARICOM BEEP has been mainstreamed within the Secretariat and a Project Management Committee, chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, is providing oversight. Activities under the programme are aimed at reducing energy costs to improve the economic situation of the organisation. They are also aimed at providing example and proof to Member States of the tangible benefits that can be derived from addressing the efficiency with which energy is used in public buildings across the Region, as promoted under the CARICOM Energy Policy and the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C‑SERMS).
The positive experience of the BEEP activities in the CARICOM Secretariat has also led to an expansion of the initiative across the Community to support other major administrative buildings, including the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission Headquarters in Saint Lucia.
