The Regional Director for Energy stressed today the importance of the Public Building Energy Managers Course, considering that it "addresses the needs of a rigorous management of the energy resources consumed by the regional public sector."
Andreia Carreiro spoke at the opening of this course in Ponta Delgada, adding that an identical initiative will be held "on the island of Terceira in September."
The Public Buildings Energy Managers Course is the result of a partnership between ADENE - Agency for Energy and the Government of the Azores- It covers the Regional Directorates for Energy and Employment and Vocational Training, through the Azores Public Administration Training Centre.
"This initiatives arises from the need to focus on the public sector, which consumed in 2017 approximately 10% of the electric energy produced in the Region," said Andreia Carreiro. The government official added the Government will implement next year "an electronic platform that will provide the energy consumption of buildings under the Energy Efficiency Barometer in Public Administration."
"This tool is being tested at national level and, in this context, the Regional Government has been closely monitoring its evolution in order to learn about its technical requirements and specifications, taking into consideration the Region's specificities," said the Regional Director.
According to Andreia Carreiro, the electronic platform will allow "public entities to know their energy consumption and identify opportunities for improvement."
For the Regional Director, the training that began today "is quite relevant insofar as each regional service and organisation should will designate worker responsible for the implementation of measures promoting the improvement of energy efficiency."
In this context, he stressed that trainees "will acquire skills that will allow them to identify strategies to improve the rational use of energy and promote behaviour change in work context."
"We also aim to stimulate the energy certification of public buildings, a tool that evaluates and validates the energy performance of the property, providing recommendations for improvement." Moreover, we intend "to implement Energy Performance Contracts, an integrated approach to energy efficiency improvements that include financing, construction works and energy management." In turn, "Energy Managers be qualified to supervise these contracts," said Andreia Carreiro.