Question no

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 6 JUNE 2008

Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether her department has conducted an energy audit to determine its (a) use of energy and (b) opportunities for reduction of energy use; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether her department has any plans to reduce energy consumption; if not, why not; if so, what plans;

(3) whether her department has made any material reduction in energy use since 1 January 2008; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1666E

REPLY
((1)(a) No, my Department has not conducted an energy audit. However, we are mindful of the pressure on the demand for electricity throughout the country and as such, my Department has issued an instruction to its employees to reduce and conserve energy throughout our buildings.
(b) My Department issued the following Departmental Codified Instruction on 17 October 2007 to all its offices throughout the country:-
"Strict economy to be exercised in the use of electricity and water.
The strictest economy possible should at all times be exercised with the use of electricity and water and this fact was impressed upon all officers and employees concerned. All lights and electrical appliances must be switched off immediately if they are no longer required especially in court rooms, typing pools, registries and other large halls or offices where a number of lights and appliances of considerable wattage consuming power are usually installed. The unauthorized connection of any electrical and other appliances other than those belonging to the State to electrical and water circuits of Government buildings without the consent of the district representative is strictly prohibited and any disregard hereof will be viewed in a serious light. Officers should realise that the connection of apparatus to electrical circuits not designed therefore can have serious consequences not only as far as the safety of the building is concerned but may also endanger the personal safety of the occupants thereof."
(3) Since invoices for municipal services are received and paid for by the Department of Public Works (DPW) on behalf of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, we are unable to confirm whether any material reduction in energy use has been made since 1 January 2008.

QUESTION NO: 972

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 16 OF 06 JUNE 2008
MR MJ ELLIS (DA) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

1. 
   Whether her department has conducted an energy audit to determine (a) use of energy and (b) opportunities for reduction of energy use; if not, why not; what are the relevant details;
   
2. 
   Whether her department has any plans to reduce energy consumption; if not, why not; if so, what plans;
   
3. 
   Whether her department has made any material reduction in energy use sin 1 January 2008; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details.
   

REPLY:

1. 
   Whether her department has conducted an energy audit to determine its:
   

1. 
   Use of energy
   

The Department did conduct an audit and has found that it is possible for the Department to utilise energy more efficiently and to reduce energy consumption. Opportunities for the reduction of energy use has been identified and is listed in par b. below.

2. 
   Opportunities for reduction of energy use; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details
   

The opportunities identified are:

• 
  To switch off lighting at 20h00 or when offices/areas are no longer in use and to switch on lighting at 06h00 daily. Furthermore to ensure that outside lighting (security lighting) are switched on only after sun-set, depending on the season (summer/winter), and switched off at sunrise.
  
• 
  All geysers to be switched off permanently since normal daily activities do not require the use of hot water.
  
• 
  Kitchen equipment, excluding refrigerators, will be switched off when not in use
  
• 
  Offices/areas with individually controlled light switches will be switched off when office/area is not occupied, even during day time when office/areas are not occupied/used for an extensive period of time. Similarly, loose standing electrical equipment i.e.: fans, air-con units, heaters must also be switched off when office/area is not in use, or where the offices/areas are empty for an extended period of time.
  
• 
  Lighting in outside parking areas must be switched off at sunrise, and must only be switched on at sunset.
  
• 
  Light bulbs are to be replaced with energy saving light bulbs.
  
• 
  Lighting in offices/areas should, where possible, be reduced by removing some florescent light tubes or reducing lux levels.
  
• 
  Air-conditioning systems plants are switched off at 20h00 and switched on at 06h00.
  
• 
  It is also being considered whether computer equipment i.e. desk-tops and printers could be switched during week-ends.
  

2. 
   Whether her department has any plans to reduce energy consumption; if not, why not; if so, what plans
   

Based on the identified opportunities the Department has compiled an Energy Saving Strategy and is in the process of implementing it.

3. 
   Whether her department has made any material reduction in energy use since 1 January 2008; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
   

The Department has embarked on is Energy Saving Strategy in April 2008 and material reductions in energy use will only be determined in the future.

Question 973

Dr R Rabinowitz (IFP) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:

(1) Whether he will ensure that his department (a) monitors and (b) reduces its carbon footprint with immediate effect; if so, how will this be done;

(2) Whether this will include the phasing out of glossy publications from all agencies or councils reporting to him; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) (a) what is the estimated cost of all such (i) reports and (ii) publications per annum in the case of these agencies and all other working documents of his department and (b) what kinds of (i) energy are being used in the offices of his department and (ii) energy saving measures are being implemented in these offices?NW1223E

Response:

(1) (a) The Minister will ensure that the dti monitors its carbon footprint as steps have been taken to address this important issue. Attention is drawn to the publication of the Environmental Implementation Plan for the dti (“the EIP”) in terms of Section 15(2)(b) of the National Environmental Management Act No 107 of 1998, which came into effect on 18 April 2008. The EIP clearly and in appropriate detail sets out the commitment of the dti to address its environmental impact in terms of its operations.

(b) The dti, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and in line with Government initiatives, is implementing its own Energy Efficiency Programme.
The dti also recognises its role in assisting and guiding industry in reducing its carbon footprint. This is being done in three ways:
i) Contributing R4,8 million per annum of operational funding and R2,5 million of project funding to the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) to conduct energy and other efficiency audits in companies within 3 sectors. This activity has been ongoing since 2003.
ii) Exploring options to expand the services of the NCPC to more sectors.
iii) Initiating a Nedlac FRIDGE Study to:

• 
  Identify energy sensitive sectors within the South African economy;
  
• 
  Identify the best available and affordable options to increase energy efficiency in sectors; and
  
• 
  Identify options for industry to access incentives to encourage investment in energy-saving technology and equipment.
  

(2) The dti gives preference to paper manufacturers who, during their manufacturing processes, use sugar cane as their primary source of pulp, undertake chlorine free bleaching processes and source wood fiber from sustainable and internationally certified suppliers.
It is however acknowledge by the department that some of its publications still include glossy publications that are printed to ensure a broader reach to communities that do not have access to the internet. Such publications are undertaken with strict adherence to the environmental awareness protocol (People, Planet and Prosperity).

(3) (a) The dti spent R2.5 million on publications last year.

(b) The dti has with the assistance of the PPP concessionaire conducted an investigation into its energy consumption and determined opportunities for reduction of energy use. The investigation has not yet been finalized as further refinements are necessary due to the complexity of some elements related to it. The final plan will be submitted to the department as additional expertise was brought on board by the concessionaire to help with the investigation.

Changes were effected to the building management system (BMS) to switch off lights on the dti campus from 19h00 to 06h00 every day except for emergency lighting and lighting on ground floors at security points. Initiatives related to the lights, commenced in January 2008 and technical problems that will ensure consistent application have been attended to. In the short term switches will be added to floors as part of this initiative. During the past month, regular light inspections have been carried out at night to ensure that the BMS operations are effective.

Other plans are also being put into place (over and above the design provisions that already existed) to introduce more energy efficiency. It should be noted that the campus was designed and built with environmental concerns in mind. The full scope of additional work will only be evident once the final energy saving strategy has been submitted by the concessionaire to the department. The immediate actions that could be taken, have been implemented.
These are:

• 
  BMS settings reset for air-conditioning from original times 05h00 – 00:00 to 06h00 – 18h00
  
• 
  Two basement air-extractors are manually switched off from 10h00 to 15h00 and are now connected to the BMS that switches them off from 18h00 to 06h00.
  
• 
  Areas that are not presently occupied have been switched off, for example, Building E 2^nd floor and a portion of the Knowledge Centre.
  
• 
  Instructions have been issued to retailers that rent premises on campus to switch off their appliances and lights that are not needed. This has started to take effect.
  
• 
  All campus geysers are now connected to the BMS.
  
• 
  The power factor correction was analysed and the point of billed maximum demand is excellent at 0.98.
  

• 
  All unoccupied boardroom lights are switched off.
  

Question no. 975

QUESTION PAPER DATE: FRIDAY, 13 June 2008

975: Dr R Rabinowitz (IFP) to ask the Minister of Minerals and Energy:

(1) Whether she will ensure that her department (a) monitors and (b) reduces its carbon footprint with immediate effect; if so, how will this be done;

A) The Department has implemented energy saving and energy efficiency measures at its head office, we retrofitted the lights with energy efficient light bulbs with a centralised lighting control system to ensure that lights are switched off during the night and on weekends. There is also a daily program by security officers to switch off the lights every evening between 8pm and 6am this is closely monitored by the security officers’ supervisors.

The DME is in the process of procuring a new building as the current building does not belong to us. The new building will be more energy efficient and will use renewable energy sources to provide power. This will substantially reduce the carbon footprints for the DME. The challenge with the existing building is that it will be very expensive to make it more energy efficient, and the improvements that might be made will not justify the investment in that the payback period will be very long.

(2) whether this will include the phasing out of glossy publications from all agencies or councils reporting to her; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) (a) what is the estimated cost of all such (i) reports and (ii) publications per annum in the case of these agencies and all other working documents of her department and (b) what kinds of (i) energy are being used in the offices of her department and (ii) energy saving measures are being implemented in these offices?

(b) (i) The Department uses the grid based electricity connection for power supply, which is provide through ESKOM.

(ii) The energy efficiency measures highlighted above are geared at saving energy and improving the energy use patterns of the Department.