Energy administrators and members of the Energy Committee of the public sector of the Republic of Panama, on Thursday, January 14, participated in a workshop on “Energy Efficiency Guidelines”, an activity that is part of the proposal to strengthen the Energy Administrators Program in Public Institutions, developed by The Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE) with the financial support of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), as part of the Energy Efficiency Program for Latin America and the Caribbean – PALCEE-.
The proposal was made with the objective of having a general diagnosis of the Energy Administrators Program for public institutions, conceived in Law 69 of October 12, 2012 (Law of Rational and Efficient Use of Energy – UREE), currently in force in the Republic of Panama, and make proposals for improvement that facilitate its implementation in a general way in public institutions and that, once implemented, guarantee their sustainability.
As part of this proposal, a workshop was held to present the energy efficiency guidelines for the preparation of energy performance reports by type of installation, aimed at energy managers of public institutions in the Republic of Panama. The guidelines will allow administrators to determine comparative energy performance indices between buildings with similar characteristics and to implement energy efficiency measures in areas with the greatest potential for improvement.
At the workshop, Jorge Rivera, Executive Secretary of the National Energy Secretariat of the Republic of Panama, stated that “the official sector has an important margin to introduce corrective measures that minimize consumption and therefore its energy bill, favoring the use of of the resources of all Panamanians”.
Andrea Heins, OLACDE’s consultant, who was in charge of developing the proposal to strengthen the Program of Energy Administrators in Public Institutions, advised the group of “Energy Administrators” on the tools for the preparation of a Plan of Energy Efficiency Management in Public Institutions.
Heins reiterated that in order to obtain constant results, it is essential to carry out audits and implementation of advanced and systematic energy management systems – such as ISO 50001 – and the renovation of lighting systems, among others.
The workshop was also attended by Andrés Schuschny, Director of Studies, Projects and Information of OLACDE.
Communication Department and Institutional Relations gabriela.jarrin@OLACDE.org
