Cofely Besix Facility Management (CBFM) said the company has officially been accredited as an energy services company (Esco) by the Dubai Regulatory & Supervisory Bureau (RSB).

The accreditation scheme aims to give prospective clients confidence in contracting with Esco-accredited entities by recognising companies which have appropriately qualified personnel working within the organisation, a robust financial status, and a proven track record of successfully delivering energy saving projects in the UAE.

“The recognition by the governing body is very important to us, as it allows the CBFM to further develop operations in the Energy Services and Energy Performance Contracting fields,” remarked Bart Holsters, the operations manager of CBFM.

"Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is a means to deliver infrastructure improvements to facilities, and under an EPC arrangement an Esco implements a project to deliver energy efficiency, or a renewable energy project, and uses the stream of income from the cost savings to repay the costs of the project," he stated.

An EPC can therefore be seen as a form of ‘creative financing’ for capital improvement which allows funding for energy upgrades from energy cost reductions, explained Holsters.

The approach is based on the transfer of technical risks from the client to the Esco-based company, on performance guarantees given by the Esco,” he added.

Obtaining the certificate involved setting up an energy audit team, and a measurement and verification structure, as well as obtaining a number of other certifications issued by the Association of Energy Engineers and the Efficiency Valuation Organization.

An accreditation board assess applications according to the criteria set out in the application process. The board has powers both to accredit Escos and to remove accreditation if the company subsequently fails to meet the accreditation criteria.

CBFM’s capability was successfully demonstrated to the RSB and the provisional Esco accreditation certificate was finally issued at the RSB offices during a small ceremony on December 6.
 
Members of the accreditation board come from the RSB and from Etihad Energy Services (EES). EES has been established to fulfil the role of “super-Esco” in Dubai, working with other Escos to deliver energy savings projects for public and private sector clients.-TradeArabia News Service