“It is essential that enterprises go beyond investments in renewable energy and concentrate more efforts on energy efficiency. And thus we are meeting here today to raise awareness on energy efficiency and energy auditing.”
Minister for Energy and Water Management Joe Mizzi said this during the Energy Efficiency for Business and Industry Conference, expressing the Government’s commitment towards achieving greater economic success through an efficient and reliable energy market.
“The past few decades have seen a growing consciousness about the importance of ensuring that citizens and businesses have access to affordable, sustainable, and reliable sources of energy. These overarching objectives are entrenched in Malta’s energy roadmap, which reflects that adopted by the European Union when devising the Clean Energy Package.”
He said that the economic growth had in past years led to an increase in the demand of energy, and with energy being fossil fuel based, this led to increased environmental concerns. This trend in recent years has been the subject of Regulations, Directives, and Conventions taken by the various international actors, reaching a climax with the coming into force of the Paris Agreement.
“Malta being a small and, until recently, completely isolated energy system, realized that it had to address its heavy dependence on oil, and the structural inefficiencies which were keeping energy prices well above average.”
He stated that with a high share of consumption relying on electricity, it was natural to first focus on the supply side, and ensure that both generation and distribution are overhauled and brought up to industry standards. The roadmap undertaken was made up of various steps and included:
· The electricity interconnection with mainland Europe,
· a switch from fuel oil to natural gas, and
· extensive support for the deployment of photovoltaic panels and energy efficiency schemes.
“These actions not only provided the Maltese society with cheaper, cleaner and more sustainable energy, but also served as a catalyst for the turnaround of the financial situation of EneMalta plc. EneMalta not only improved the operational efficiency of the generation but delved into the revamp of its distribution grid,” Minister Joe Mizzi said.
He also said that action and investment was not done only on the supply side of the market, but also on the consumer side, with the continuation or set up of schemes to incentivize the investment of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Through appropriate support mechanisms for renewable technologies, Malta is set to maintain a steady growth: a growth which ensures that the industry flourishes steadily.
Minister Mizzi said that importance is well-given also to energy efficiency, supporting the fact that the cheapest form of energy is that which is not consumed. The Energy and Water Agency within the Ministry for Energy and Water Management is not only launching incentive schemes for energy efficiency measures, but also placing great efforts to create the necessary awareness to drive investment in this area and to make sure that all enterprises include energy auditing and energy efficiency measures in their investment plans.
He concluded that the purpose of an audit is exactly that - to make consumers aware of their consumption. Sometimes, recommendations to address consumption could sound unfeasible or unimportant, especially in an atmosphere of increased economic growth. However, increased consumption cannot go unchecked, and addressing it would lead to a win-win situation for the enterprise and its customers.