Fulfilling a legally mandated energy audit can be a profitable exercise
Owners of commercial buildings built since 1987 could profit by meeting the efficiency ordinance's rapidly approaching deadline
Owners of all commercial buildings in Hong Kong built since 1987 will be well aware that they are legally required to conduct an energy audit under the new Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (Chapter 610).
But not all such owners recognise that the window for doing so is now more than two-thirds closed. Each day that goes by means more owners have to use the remaining time to avoid being fined.
Building owners dealing with time constraints also face a great risk of a loss that is far more significant than a fine.
The Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (BEEO) took effect on September 21 last year. That means all commercial buildings - and the commercial portions of composite buildings, usually retail podiums with residential properties above - with Occupancy Permits issued since 1988, have until September 20 this year to complete the audit.
They also have to display the resulting Energy Audit Form "prominently at the building main entrance" (as the Ordinance says).
About 3,000 buildings are subject to this deadline. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) website showed that just 78 buildings were issued with their Energy Audit Form (EE5) with eight of the 12 months gone. The owners of the remaining 2,900 buildings now have only four months left to get the job done.