A SENIOR energy adviser of the United Kingdom (UK) government is visiting Manila next week to explore possible collaborations with the energy players in the country.

Angus Miller, a senior Energy adviser at the UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), will be here to meet key government officials and business leaders to discuss a range of energy issues in the Philippines.

He will also explore future engagements and collaborations between the UK and the Philippines's energy sector.

On July 9'Miller will speak at the 4th Philippine Energy Efficiency Forum (PEEF) organized by the European Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ECCP), and its partners, which will be held at the SMX Convention Center.

The Business Mirror is the event's media partner. He will discuss energy efficiency and climate change, focusing on the UK's perspective on the global geopolitics of energy.

As Caspian Energy Adviser at the FCO's Climate Change and Energy Group, Miller's role was expanded in 2011 to include direct involvement in energy security and energy geopolitical issues in the Americas, the Asian subcontinent, the Far East and Asia Pacific, as well as Central Asia.

He has advised ministers from the FCO and the Department of Energy & Climate Change and their teams  on international energy security issues relating to policy formulation and relationship building.

An economist by training and a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Miller is a regular speaker at energy related events around the world. He is a member of the leadership team   that established and managed the world's largest professional services and consulting practice devoted to energy and mining.

The UK government, through its embassy in Manila, has been working with the Department of Finance (DOF) on the potential benefits of a retrofit of its main building on Roxas Boulevard.

The program showed that if the DOF implemented the proposed retrofitting, the building could still  achieve a further 12­percent reduction in energy usage and a return on investment in less than two  years.

Assuming this is a good benchmark, if 20 departments retrofit their own buildings, savings could be in the region of P361 million. According to the DOF's own figures, this would allow, for example, the government to build 20 kilometers of four­to­six­lane expressways, 1,500 km of rural roads and 1,800 more classrooms, or cover an additional 63,000 more beneficiaries for the government's conditional cash transfer.

Also making a presentation at ECCP's Energy Forum is International Finance Corp. (IFC) Regional Manager for Sustainable Energy Finance Miles Stump.

Stump will be discussing the status of a sustainable energy finance program in the Philippines. Stump joined IFC in 2005 and has worked on enabling financial institutions create dedicated sustainable energy lending products.

Joining the international energy experts are Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla and University of the Philippines School of Economics Prof. Cayetano Paderanga Jr.

The forum will also have presentations from leading energy companies, government agencies, and associations including Schneider Electric (Philippines) Inc., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Philips Electronics & Lighting Inc., JEC Philippines, Semiconductors & Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc., the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the DOF and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

As in previous PEEFs, a trade exhibit on the latest technology and services available in the country will also be held side by side with the forum.

After the Manila edition of the forum, the ECCP will head south to Cebu on July 16 and, for the first time, in Davao on July 23 in a bid to promote energy efficiency among companies throughout the country.

Source: Business Mirror; News; 05 July 2013