It was all glitter and pomp at the Energy Management Awards (EMA) gala dinner hosted by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) on 31st May 2013 at the Intercontinental hotel as Kenafric Confectionary was named overall winner. This is the fourth time they have won the award. Sarova Whitesands took the runners up award.
During the dinner, KAM Chairman, Mr. Polycarp Igathe called on the country to exploit its coal reserves. He cited the example of India and China which import coal from South Africa and have lower electricity tariffs than Kenya. Though coal is not considered clean energy due to the gases emitted during its extraction, it could help bring down the costs of energy for manufacturers and bring down the cost of goods.
The French Ambassador, his Excellency Mr. Etienne de Poncins who graced the occasion as the chief guest, said that France was committed to the reform of the energy sector in the country and had set aside Sh40 billion for energy projects in the country. Olkaria Geothermal IV which is set to be completed next year is partly financed by the French Development Agency, AFD. He praised energy conservation efforts by local companies.
An important aspect of energy efficiency for companies is to have an energy management team that oversees the implementation of the firms energy policy. The best energy team award for large manufactures was awarded to Kenafric confectionary. Gitugi tea factory won the runners up prize. The factory has an energy team and policy that they have implemented. They are now using biomass energy.
In the small manufacturers category, Sarova Mara game park took the also won runners up in the best energy management team award while Sarova Taita hills won the award.
Other winners in other categories were Githambo Tea Factory, which won the runners up award for electricity savings - large manufacturers category while Turtle bay beach club was named the winner. The service sector award runners up went to Sarova Mara game camp and Sarova Whitesands won the award.
Rukuriri tea factory came second in the sustained high performance category and Bidco Oil Refineries won the award. Judges said they won the award for the insulation of steam and condensate lines and also for curing of firewood and storing it under sheds.
The innovation category was divided into 2 awards - an award for large manufacturers and for SMES. The award for SMEs was taken by Sarova Mara game camp. They were also the only company nominated in this category. They were recognised by judges for running an awareness campaign and installing energy efficient LED lamps and cold rooms.
The innovation runners up - large manufacturers award went to Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd while the Kenafric industries Ltd - consumer division, were the winners. Bidco Oil won the fuel oil savings award for large manufacturers and Frigoken were named runners up.
Making their debut to the awards were Frigoken, Githambo Tea factory and Gold crown foods. Frikogen won the best new entrant award and Gold crown came second. Cooperative bank was also recognised for its achievements in promoting ‘green’ financing and for taking risks in new areas of financing.
To determine the winners, questionnaires are normally sent out to firms that have done energy audits. Responses from the companies are evaluated by a technical team and their evaluation in turn is ratified by a team of judges. An advisory board oversees the whole process