Demand-side management (DSM) initiatives to be introduced by Eskom shortly
could lead to significant reductions in property operating costs, says
Richard Murphy, head of the facilities management division of Old Mutual
Properties.
He says the extent of any savings will depend on landlords' willingness and
ability to engage in the initiatives.
"Eskom have indicated they wish to save 180 megawatts on the national grid
over the daily domestic peak consumption period of 6 to 9 at night and 6 to
8 in the mornings. Eskom will substantially fund approved projects that
contribute to that overall saving according to a value formula.
"A study we have conducted on behalf of Old Mutual is that 3,5 Megawatts can
be saved at its Mutual Park head office in Pinelands through a modern, state
of the art emergency generating system powering the site without taking a
supply from the mains at the Eskom peaks. This system, with its ability to
load shed when required, will be submitted to Eskom for consideration to
part fund should it fit their evaluation criteria.
"The emergency system is needed in any event to power the site and its
infrastructure under emergency conditions in case of a prolonged outage. If
approved as a project, the property owner could enjoy a 65% subsidy on the
capital cost of the system."
Additional savings in property operating costs could flow from the
forthcoming introduction of regional electrical distributors, says Murphy.
End users will have an option to purchase their electricity from the
regional distributors at discount rates. Murphy says tenants are benefiting
from reductions in operating costs achieved through a combination of
initiatives in Facilities Management.
"The main initiatives centre on benchmarking of costs, simplifying
procurement channels through, for instance, introduction of national
purchasing of consumables, from light bulbs and cleaning materials to major
components of centralized airconditioning and electrical systems, as well as
close monitoring of service levels agreements which specified penalties for
any non-conformance.
"In the case of Old Mutual Properties, R10 million will be saved over 10
years on lift and escalator contracts through benchmarking of costs and the
development of what is now a standard lift/escalator agreement for the
entire industry. By reducing procurement channels from 25 entities to three,
a further R6,23 million has been saved in the last two years in the area of
soft services such as cleaning, landscaping and security."
Publisher: Cape Business News
Source: Cape Business News
Savings in operating costs on the cards.
Posted On Friday, 16 May 2003 02:00 Published by eProperty News
Demand-side management (DSM) initiatives to be introduced by Eskom shortly could lead to significant reductions in property operating costs, says Richard Murphy, head of the facilities management division of Old Mutual Properties.
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