Few building owners and property managers in the country are familiar with new government laws and guidelines encouraging energy efficiency and conservation in the work place.
These laws have become all the more urgent now that Metro Manila is a key office market in the globe and its landlords are now considered major energy users.
Republic Act 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Law requires, among other measures, that at least 1 percent of the total power demand of a building must be generated by a renewable source such as solar photovoltaic panels.
Building owners or landlords need to be re-oriented on this law especially because its implementing rules and regulations were passed in May 2019.
Those who adhere to the Energy Efficiency law’s key provisions are set to reap benefits including savings in energy costs, one of the biggest expenses in running an office tower.
One of those provisions, for instance, is for building owners with an annual consumption of at least 500,000 kilowatt hours to employ a certified conservation officer tasked to find ways to save energy.
RA 11285 was passed into law in 2008 to promote the use alternative sources of energy. Its purpose was to ensure that the country would minimize its dependence on fossil fuel while promoting energy sources that help sustain the planet.