Energy SOS

(Top) Diesel fuel costs less than half the price of a litre of bottled mineral water in Brunei.(Above) Gadong power station is one of the five power stations operating to supply electricity to the nation. On May 24, the nation's electrical usage will be highlighted for the SOS campaign from 9am to 9pm.

SWITCH off unnecessary lights, turn off your water heater when not in use and set your air conditioners to 24C or at least one degree Celsius higher than you would normally do.

These are the three steps the Energy Division at the Prime Minister's Office is promoting under the government's latest campaign to save energy, "Switch Off & Set" or SOS, for the upcoming Energy Day 2010 on Monday.

The Energy Division is calling on individuals and organisations to pledge their participation online at www.esavingday.com, and promise to practise at least one of the three steps, if not all, as part of efforts to foster the habit of energy saving.

"The campaign would also be an exercise to show how much of a difference the people of Brunei can make by taking simple action steps to save energy," the website stated.

"With the development of the energy-saving habit, we hope that the people of Brunei can change their mindset from living an energy wastage lifestyle to an energy-conscious one," it added.

The nation's electrical usage over a 12-hour period on May 24 will be highlighted for the campaign, which runs from 9am to 9pm, said the deputy permanent secretary (Energy) at the Prime Minister's Office during a press conference on Energy Day 2010 yesterday.

Hj Ismail POKPS DP Hj Hashim added that the day's electrical consumption would also be publicly announced every three hours via graphs on the SOS website, "TV ticker" on local television and radio.

"The readings will be benchmarked with the average electricity consumption readings taken on May 10 2010, and May 17, 2010," the website said. However, a rise or decline in electrical usage on the day would also factor in other aspects, as a senior officer from the Energy Division pointed out.

Ahmad Hj Mohamad, head of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Unit, said that factors such as weather on the day will affect the results.

"For example, if it's a hot day, we might see an increase in electricity consumption as people might be switching on their air-conditioners. So, we have to take into account these things as well," Ahmad said.

The eSaving SOS campaign is the third that the government has introduced since the country celebrated its first energy day in 2007.

During Energy Day 2008, the Sultanate experienced an increase in electrical consumption during a 12-hour period, against the same period on April 19, 2008. The authorities had attributed the rise to "hot weather".