Pehin Dato Mohammad Yasmin Umar is the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam since May 2010. He is also the Director of the Defence Minister's Office and Directorate of Strategic Planning. Prior to serving as the Minister of Energy, he was the Deputy Minister of Defence since May 2005. Pehin Dato Mohammad Yasmin Umar graduated in 1981 with an MSc from the faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In 1986, he was awarded the certified Chartered Engineer (C Eng) insignia from the Institute of Chartered Engineers, and is a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, UK. In 2006, he was conferred the Most Honourable Order of Paduka Seri Mahkota Brunei, Second Class, which carries the title "Dato Paduka".
Q1. The 29th AMEM meeting was recently held in Brunei with the theme "ASEAN Connectivity". How will the public sector engage the private sector in order to fully realise the Master Plan on the ASEAN Connectivity vision, especially in the energy sector, given that this is the first meeting held since the adoption of the Master Plan by Asean Leaders last year?
Yang Berhormat Pehin: During the 29th AMEM, the Ministers stressed that it was a golden opportunity for the energy sector to seize the momentum of the ASEAN Connectivity. The Ministers expressed that greater private-sector participation is needed for the implementation of the energy connectivity projects. The economic viability of the planned interconnection projects and increasing investment costs are among the challenges of this realisation. The Ministers further acknowledged that private-sector involvement will catalyse the implementation of the ASEAN Power Grid, and tasked the Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA) to recommend steps to enhance private-sector engagement.
Q2: The Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline Networks and ASEAN Power Grid have been pushed as two very significant and tangible contributors towards a more improved ASEAN connectivity. These ventures call for regional cooperation in pooling and maximising efficient utilisation of energy resources. What are the policy responses being taken to minimise the barriers hindering such regional market integration?
YBP: A similar platform for regulators/governments to collaborate in addressing regulatory issues and to facilitate the harmonisation of all power market and gas market structures in ASEAN is under development by HAPUA for the ASEAN Power Grid and ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE) for the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline. This platform will provide access to electricity and gas resources for ASEAN member states. The Ministers tasked senior officials and HAPUA to work in tandem with the ASEAN Energy Regulators Network to expedite the harmonisation of regulatory practices and technical standards.
Q3: With a MoU now signed with the International Energy Agency on energy cooperation, what are the areas and initiatives you feel would be most pertinent for ASEAN and IEA towards this end?
YBP: The Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation between ASEAN and the International Energy Agency (IEA) is to strengthen cooperation and to assist ASEAN in the implementation of its energy objectives, goals and measures as set out in the ASEAN Plan of Action For Energy Cooperation (APAEC). In this regard, during the 29th AMEM, the Ministers endorsed that ASEAN and IEA will jointly work to develop an ASEAN chapter in IEA's Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) 2012 and thereafter to develop a "Technology Prospects" on the ASEAN power generation sector. This ASEAN-IEA initiative will greatly enhance the development and deployment of clean energy technologies in the region towards a low carbon future.
Q4: One of the trends towards ensuring energy security and sustainability is exploring renewable energy sources. What are some of the latest ASEAN initiatives being undertaken in alternative energy, and what are your thoughts regarding nuclear energy for the Southeast Asian region, in light of the Fukushima crisis?
YBP: Under Program Area No. 5 (Renewable Energy) of the APAEC 2010-2015, some initiatives have been taken to pursue a collective target of 15 percent for regional renewable energy in the total power installed capacity by 2015. These include conducting regional market studies on renewable energy, establishing the framework for promoting innovative financing instruments or mechanisms to support and enhance renewable energy project implementation, and so on.
In light of the Fukushima crisis and potential trans-boundary impact of accidents at nuclear installations, ASEAN will strengthen cooperation in building up regional nuclear emergency preparedness and response mechanisms. It will also look to develop a coordinated approach that will contribute to global undertakings to improve nuclear safety. This will be in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other relevant partners.
Q5: Brunei's current reliance on oil and gas as the sole sources of energy to generate income and provide a ready surplus of energy is not sustainable in the long term. What are the energy efficiency and conservation measures being put in place to address this?
YBP: Our total internal energy consumption is made up of 69 percent natural gas, mainly for power generation, and the remaining 31 percent from oil, mainly for transportation fuel. In 2010, we spent about 2 billion Brunei dollars on fuel expenditure. As the population is expected to grow at 2-3 percent per annum and sustain an economic growth of 3-6 percent per annum, the total fuel expenditure is predicted to increase to approximately 2.8 billion Brunei dollars by 2020 under a Business As Usual (BAU) scenario. This is clearly not sustainable for our small economy. Therefore, energy efficiency and conservation (EEC) is very high on our energy agenda.
On power generation, the main focus is to improve the national power generation efficiency from the current 23 percent to more than 45 percent in the future through operational excellence, asset rejuvenation, conversion of old open-cycle power plants to more efficient combined-cycle power plants, and reduction of losses from power transmission and distribution.
On the power demand side, we will intensify our energy-saving initiatives by promoting the use of high-efficiency electrical appliances such as air-conditioning/lighting and developing appropriate policies to implement appliances energy standards and labelling. On green buildings, structured energy audits are being carried out, especially on government buildings, to identify energy-saving best practices.
Energy managers will be appointed to monitor energy consumption in buildings, to ensure that energy-efficient practices are implemented. A pilot project on building energy management through public private partnership (ppp) will be carried out to analyse the consumption trend, and to recommend and implement measures to reduce energy consumption. A new electricity tariff structure for residential customers will also be introduced in January 2012, which, among other things, will encourage residents to save energy.
With regard to the transportation sector, the most significant amount of energy being consumed is by petrol-guzzling cars, which account for 52 percent of fuel consumed. This is followed by diesel cars, which account for 27 percent. The remaining are consumed by air and marine transportation. The EEC initiatives considered include introducing fuel efficiency for motor vehicles through policy implementation, promoting the use of hybrid cars and electric vehicles (EV), and improving mass transport infrastructure and systems. Brunei should be able to achieve at least 20 percent fuel efficiency through the implementation of the above initiatives.
It is estimated that under the green scenario, the internal energy consumption for Brunei Darussalam could potentially be reduced to 1.7 billion Brunei dollars per annum by 2020.