Three commercial buildings in Cape Town have been awarded for making significant reductions in their energy consumption.
Old Mutual, Clicks Group and Ackermans were recognised by the Cape Town Energy Efficiency Forum and its partners as the winners of the 2016 Energy Efficiency (EE) Forum for Commercial Buildings. The announcement was made at the Forum Awards on 1 November 2016 at the Electricity Department head office in Bloemhof, Bellville.
With rising electricity costs and electricity supply constraints in SA, energy efficiency measures are key to sustainable economic growth and stability. A report by the City of Cape Town shows that the commercial sector in Cape Town uses an estimated 44% of the electricity supply in the Cape Town area.
The EE Forum Awards is held annually by the City of Cape Town, aimed to motivate businesses to reduce their energy consumption. The award categories are: Large Building Retrofit, Small Building Retrofit and New Building Category. Applications for this year's Awards were judged by the Energy Research Centre’s (ERC) Monitoring and Verification Unit, based at the University of Cape Town. Councillor Matthew Kempthorne handed over the awards to the 2016 winners, who were commended by the City for their energy saving initiatives and for doing their part in reducing their carbon footprint.
Old Mutual’s business park in Pinelands scooped the award in the Large Building Retrofit category for their efforts, including:
- Reducing their electricity use by 15%
- Upgrading to LED lighting
- Implementing operation and behavioural changes, and rewarding its staff for saving
- These interventions yield annual savings of about 6470 MWh
- Installation of a solar PV system is currently underway
The award for Small Building Retrofit went to the Clicks Group head office in Woodstock. Their energy efficient practices include:
- The installation of 1298 solar PV panels, equivalent to the size of a rugby field. The average daily energy production of these rooftop panels is 1 795 kWh
- Installing smart meters
- Upgrading to LED lighting
- Replacing electric geysers with efficient heat pumps
- Variable speed drives for air-conditioning
- The company saves on average 31% on electricity costs as a result of these energy efficiency initiatives
Ackermans claimed the Special Merit Award for their energy saving initiatives, including:
- A full lighting efficiency upgrade in all of its stores over the past three years
- Implementing innovative internal campaigns (SWATT) to improve the energy awareness of its staff
Steve Nicholls from NBISA gave a talk on energy pathways in SA. 
The event was attended by some 150 guests. 
Clem Sunter, a well-known scenario planner, futurologist and author was one of the guest speakers at the event. 
The guests listening attentively.
The event was attended by some 150 guests, including guest speakers Marlon Parring, Steve Nicholls and Clem Sunter.
The Western Cape Government (WCG) would like to congratulate the winners for taking the required actions to reduce their electricity consumption. It is only through combined effort from households, businesses and government that we can secure an energy secure province.
Images: Bruce Sutherland and Kevin Newman