Cofely Besix FM achieves ESCO status

Cofely Besix Facility Management (CBFM) has been accredited as an Energy Services Company (ESCO) by the Dubai Regulatory & Supervisory Bureau (RSB).

The scheme aims to give prospective clients confidence in contracting with accredited entities by recognising companies which have appropriately qualified personnel, a robust financial status, and a proven track record of 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,” said Bart Holsters, Operations Manager of Cofely Besix Facility Management.

“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.

“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. 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,” added Holsters.

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 (AEE) and the Efficiency Valuation Organization (EVO).

Members of the accreditation board come from the RSB and from Etihad Energy Services (EES) which was 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.