Public Sector Officers Take Part in Energy Conservation Training Programme

Officers from across the various ministries, agencies and departments of Government are now participating in a seven-day Energy Conservation and Efficiency Training Programme, which is aimed at making the public sector a model for the rest of the society in energy management.

In his remarks at the opening ceremony in Kingston, today (November 12), Principal Director (Energy) in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Fitzroy Vidal, emphasised that, “Jamaica depends on us…Jamaica anxiously seeks an energy solution,” noting that energy conservation and efficiency is a key element in the public sector transformation process.

He argued that while Jamaica is on track to transform the energy landscape, the country’s energy bill is still costly, although fuel importation is trending downwards. “This imperative behoves us to take ownership of the problem and seek to play our part,” Mr. Vidal said.

The training programme is designed for officers within the Government, who are responsible for energy management, as well as other professionals in the public sector who have direct responsibility for managing energy use as a part of their job functions.

This is the third such training programme for 2012, at the end of which some 160 persons throughout the public sector are expected to benefit.     

The programme will examine: the importance of energy conservation to national development; the main elements of the national energy policy; the core elements of Jamaica’s National Energy Conservation and Efficiency Policy 2009-2030; the impact that energy conservation and efficiency can have on the performance of ministries and agencies; and the officers’ role in managing the government’s energy assets and resources.

The participants will also have the opportunity to evaluate their ministry’s or department’s energy use and effectively monitor and take the necessary corrective action; conduct and prepare terms of reference for the conduct of an energy audit for a ministry/department/agency; prepare an energy conservation plan; and appreciate the role that officers in ministries, agencies and departments play in reducing overall government expenditure.