Benchmark your business: know at least whether it’s thriving or dying

By Kalanika Hewage

Knowing your position in a race is the main thing anyone must worry about, if he or she is trying to win the race. In the business world this means the market share you have earned, the new products and services you have introduced, whether your business is still dependent on products launched many years ago and an uncountable number of facts. In the manufacturing industry, the amount of inputs consumed in making a product and the product quality will decide whether you will continue to run the race or not. Living in a period with high energy costs, all energy users are required to see deep within these organisations to see whether their energy systems are in good shape. Energy benchmarking is just the beginning of a long journey to improve energy efficiency in an organisation and will help the enterprises to weather these difficult times well, if undertaken without any further delay.

What is energy benchmarking?

Energy benchmarking is the process of measuring and evaluating an energy using facility’s energy usage against a set standard or target. It involves tracking energy usage data over time to identify trends, patterns, and potential areas for improvement in order to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Benefits of energy benchmarking

Energy benchmarking is a valuable tool that allows organisations to compare their energy usage against industry standards, usage in similar facilities and most importantly their national and regional competitors. There are several benefits in incorporating energy benchmarking into business operations:

nGaining insights into energy consumption patterns

nSetting performance goals and tracking progress

nIdentifying energy-saving opportunities

nImproving energy efficiency and reducing costs

nEnhancing sustainability efforts and reducing carbon footprint

To benchmark your business and determine its current status, you should analyse your energy usage along with the key outputs such as production, work force, floor area, working hours etc.. The amount of energy used for producing a unit of a good or providing a unit of a service is generally considered as the benchmarking indicator. Lower the benchmark, better the performance. By regularly monitoring and evaluating these metrics, you can gain a clearer understanding of whether your business is thriving or at risk of decline.

Role of SLSEA in energy benchmarking

Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) has been vested with the responsibility of establishing energy benchmarks under the SLSEA Act No.35 of 2007. The Authority has used these provisions to introduce a mandatory Energy Efficiency Improvement & Conservation (EEI & C) program for industrial and commercial sectors. Accordingly, benchmarking programme was introduced for three sector categories as banks, financial institutions and retail food vending companies.

The program was enforced by a regulation published on 4 July 2023 in the Gazette Extraordinary 2339/09. Through this regulation, SLSEA enforced an energy benchmark for the target three sectors which the target sectors need to adhere to. If they are unable to comply with the benchmark, it is mandatory for them to conduct an Energy Audit and submit a Plan of Action to reduce energy usage and reach the stipulated benchmark.

Authority will also award appropriate ratings to the organisations, based on the level of performance and according to the ratings given in the regulation.

National Energy Benchmarking Portal 

The regulation also required to report energy usage data to the Authority in each quarter. To facilitate energy data reporting, a web portal has been developed by SLSEA with the technical and financial assistance of USAID Sri Lanka Energy Program, named ‘National Energy Benchmarking Portal’. The portal facilitate the end user energy data capture, data analysis and comparison of energy performance among similar entities. This portal can be accessed via www.benchmark.energy.gov.lk. 

Role of energy managers and energy auditors in benchmarking

During the process of improving energy efficiency in a facility, Energy Managers and Energy Auditors play an important role. Energy Managers engage in monitoring and evaluating energy usage while finding opportunities for continuous improvements. The benchmark regulation also requires to appoint Energy Managers for organisations who will be given the responsibility of energy data reporting. 

On the other hand, Energy Auditors provide an independent view on the energy system, gained after conducting detailed energy audits. The energy audit reports not only identify ways and means of improving energy efficiency and reducing costs, but go a further step in recommending financial considerations in implementing such measures to improve energy efficiency and conserve energy. As per the regulation, non-complying organisations are required to obtain the service of Accredited Energy Auditors to conduct detailed energy audits. There are 25 qualified Accredited Energy Auditors now in the register of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority.

Way forward

Considering the large number of energy users, vastness of the market and complexities associated with end use behaviour, a phased implementation of the benchmarking programme was initiated. After careful evaluation of the performance of the system involving the smaller number of large-scale users, and gaining sufficient capacity within the Authority and in the energy services industry, the program will be expanded to cover other economic sectors of the country. Prime candidates for the next phase of implementation are taken as the tea industry, water supply sector and the apparel manufacturing sector.