Monday, 14 June 2010

It is the responsibility of the population to conserve and utilize energy wisely and efficiently. Without change in attitudes among users, the demand for energy will increase and energy producers will face more challenges. Public knowledge and understanding are thus crucial for change.

The remarks were made by Deputy Permanent Secretary (Energy) at the Prime Minister’s Office Haji Ismail bin Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Setia Dato Paduka Haji Hash8im when launching the Energy Camp at Oil and Gas Discovery Centre in Seria yesterday. The camp was held in conjunction with Energy Day 2010.

In his speech, he reiterated that the energy intensity for Brunei is higher than Japan, and twice higher than Singapore.

Even though Brunei is not an industrial country, this shows that the usage of energy in the county is extremely high. It also reflects the major potential in energy saving for the country.

Energy conservation can be performed with smart and easy techniques such as using energy-efficient lamps, turn-off unnecessary lights, switch off unused electrical appliances, setting the air-conditioner to 24 Degrees Celsius or one degree higher than usual and use existing public transportation, he noted.

In the continuous effort to instill the importance of energy saving in the Bruneian community, students are the most targeted as they are the future leaders and decision makers.

The role of teachers is also important where learning energy issues would inculcate mentality towards energy savings. Education on energy conservations will also help us to create better awareness on energy issues and provide understanding on benefits of energy conservations to the community and individuals, he added.

Energy clubs have been formed in secondary schools on May 24 last year to create a culture of energy savings and conservation. The establishment of the clubs is one platform for students to communicate energy issues in schools and they serve as the Energy Ambassadors at their schools to spread the merits of energy savings to their peers, at home and also at their future workplace, the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Energy) concluded in his speech.

Haji Metali bin Haji Mirassan, Acting Head of STEP Centre, Ministry of Education in his welcoming remarks said 77 students and 14 teachers are participating in this year’s three-day-two-night Energy Camp, jointly organized by Energy Division and STEP Centre.

The objectives of the Energy Camp are to boost the student’s awareness on the importance of energy savings, to inculcate leadership qualities and teamwork among participants and also to foster friendship and exchange ideas.

He added that the activities or programmes in the camp mainly relates to energy such as visit to the cogeneration plant, Seria Oil Refinery, Billionth Barrel Monument, tech challenge, solar car and talks by the Brunei LNG.

The theme of this year’s energy camp is ‘Value Our Precious Energy’.

The camp began on Friday and will end today with a certificate presentation ceremony.

Students from 19 government and private schools throughout the country are taking part in the camp and the students are split into eight groups identified by different sources of energy such as wind, gas, coal and fire among others.

By Liza Mohd
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin