Re-energising management
December 1st 2007

The lack of energy managers is a problem that must and will be solved says Julie

Allen, energy efficiency manager, EDF Energy.Here, she discusses the issue

ith the 21st century has

come the dramatic rise of

environmental concern

and focus by the political

community on the green issue. Last

year alone saw the publication of

the Stern Review, the launch of Al

Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth', and

the promotion of government

environmental boards to the top

echelon of the committee structure.

Now more than ever before is the

time to embrace 'green'.

As the biggest users of present

energy supplies, big organisations

are being called upon to better

manage and monitor their energy

usage.The deregulation and the

stabilisation of energy prices meant

that demand for energy managers

declined throughout the 1980s and

1990s and as a result, only a handful

of trained individuals were around

by the early Noughties.

Hard to come by

So finding, educating and training a

new generation of energy managers

has become a challenge for

companies.There are some Energy

Management courses and modules

within courses offered by

universities.However many

attendants have previously used

these qualifications as a stepping

stone to a career in other fields of

work such as engineering and

architecture.This is in part due to

the historically lower average

salaries in energy management, and

the departments funding.The

Carbon Trust's recommendation that

an Energy Manager should be

employed and well-resourced for

each £1m of energy spent is

somewhat aspirational.

It is a good sign that companies are

now placing more emphasis on the

energy management role.However

that seems to lead to unrealistically

high expectations being placed on

energy managers who don't yet enjoy

increased levels of funding to meet

them.Today energy managers have to

perform additional duties quite apart

from energy monitoring and

purchasing, and are finding it hard to

maintain the expected level and

quality of work needed.

Even some of the 'standard' roles

of an energy manager have become

more complex and challenging.

Purchasing energy, for instance, now

requires an understanding of how

the commodity markets (in which

electricity and gas are traded on a

wholesale basis) operate and a

watching brief of the factors that

influence changes in these prices.

Problem solving

Already steps are being taken to

better 'fill the void' of energy

managers and their function.The

Energy Institute has developed

more targeted training programmes

like TEMOL (Training in Energy

Management through Open

Learning) that focus on the everyday

technical problems faced by energy

managers.The creation of new

university and higher education

courses as well as new training

programmes by companies would

be a welcome contribution.These

could include more vocational

training and work experience

programmes.

Companies are also beginning to

provide greater incentives to entice

those trained in the field to enter

the Energy Management profession.

Judging by recently advertised roles

for energy managers, it would seem

that larger remuneration packages

are on offer as well as a welcome

return to focus on the core

responsibilities of energy

management.

Energy Management can no

longer be considered a subsidiary or

secondary function.This is simply

because reducing carbon footprints

and increasing sustainability are the

biggest challenges faced by the

business world in the 21st century.

Although moves have been made

towards a greater provision of

resources and funding for energy

management, this needs to progress

quicker.Moreover it needs to be

reinforced by an industry wide

display of appreciation for the work

conducted by energy managers.

Energy companies are now taking

their own initiative and are

providing more guidance in energy

management for the average

company. New regulation will soon

ensure energy companies have to

provide more comprehensive

information about the energy they

provide. For the last year EDF Energy

has offered a free Energy Efficiency

Toolkit (EET) that provides easy-tofulfil

tasks to help reduce energy

costs. For larger firms we have

created a consultancy service, the

Advanced Efficiency Programme

(AEP). Energy saving advice is also

available from the Carbon Trust.

The fact that there has never been

a better time to join the profession

as a result of greater pay packages,

company support, and indeed

public support, is very encouraging.

May the increasing effort from those

that supply, buy and train people in

energy continue.

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