ECN Trains MDAs on Energy Management Systems

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) has trained stakeholders in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria on its Energy Management Systems project, to foster good industrial energy performance and resource-efficient clean technology solutions.

According to the Director General of ECN, Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, the training was to promote  innovation in clean technology solutions, which is being supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

Also, to strengthen national Industrial Energy Efficiency (IEE) policies and regulatory frameworks towards the adoption of UNIDO’s energy management systems standards in Nigeria.

 “With the increase in energy prices and the environmental impacts of energy consumption, there are reasons for balanced energy usage and effective energy management towards minimising energy wastages.

“It is therefore commendable that this timely training on Energy Management Systems (EMS) is organised to present a systematic framework for establishing policies, processes, procedures and specific energy-tasks towards meeting an organisation’s energy saving targets,”Abdullahi stated.

Also on the occasion, the  Program Coordinator, Environment and Energy, UNIDO, for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Oluyomi Banjo, commended the ECN for the training.

He said: “Globally, industries account for one-third of total energy consumption and for almost 40 per cent of worldwide CO2 emissions.

“The need to reduce energy consumption, environmental degradation, and resource depletion by industries in emerging economies is especially evident, since global growth in industrial production since 1990 has been dominated by emerging economies like India and China, both of which accounted for over 80 per cent of increased industrial production during this period.

“This project was collectively developed and submitted by UNIDO on behalf of Nigeria in 2017 under the GEF 6 programming cycle. It was approved for full project development in 2017 and subsequently approved for full project implementation in 2020.

“It may interest you to know that for the first time at UNIDO, we are having an integrated industrial energy efficiency and resource efficiency and cleaner production in one project. In South Africa, UNIDO’s project on industrial energy efficiency recently received the best project of the year by the Southern Africa energy efficiency confederation. We look forward to replicating records like this in Nigeria.”

He added that the outcome of the project was targeted at industries to develop an expert base for Nigeria which could also be exported to other countries in Africa and beyond.