Investment in energy efficiency markets around the world have been pegged at around US$300 million in 2011 – a level on a par with global investments in renewable energy or fossil-fueled power generation – the International Energy Agency (IEA) today announced. However, there is still a “huge opportunity going unrealised”, it said. IEA Untapped Potential Chart “The scale of global investment... 

ZSL London Zoo has been officially recognised as the world’s first Low Energy Company (LEC). It gained the official status after putting its staff through basic energy management training, using courses approved by the Energy Managers Association’s (EMA) sister company the Carbon Management Association – a condition of gaining LEC status. Often under-prioritised, energy is the lifeblood... 

The government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is about to launch a £4 million funding competition to look at advanced energy management solutions for existing buildings – and it is looking for participants amongst the energy management community. Due to open in October, the competition will award between £300,000 and £1 million in grant funding to a number of consortiums willing to carry... 

DONG Energy is to offer electricity supply services to its business customers, following a successful pilot project to supply power to a UK ceramics manufacturer. The move is a first for DONG, which has until now limited its activity in the UK commercial supply market to gas. The company supplies gas to around 11% of the industrial and commercial market. Available since September, the new service offers... 

Energy supplier E.ON has agreed to buy out UK energy management consultancy Matrix for an undisclosed sum, as part of efforts to broaden its presence in the growing energy efficiency market. Founded in 2003, Matrix specialises in “data-led” energy efficiency solutions for commercial buildings for a customer base that is made up largely of blue chip corporates and public sector organisations. The... 

Energy monitoring firm SenseLogix has revealed its new range of electrical sub-meters, in an effort to ensure that energy managers without existing onsite sub-metering equipment will be able to run the company’s energy management software. The company’s EnergyLogix energy management platform is designed to take readings from any brand of sub-meter to measure where energy is being used within a... 

Andrew Wright, Ofgem CEO New rules governing how energy suppliers manage their SME customers have come into force, as part of regulator Ofgem’s efforts to provide smaller businesses with more protection in the energy market. Ofgem’s new Standards of Conduct requires suppliers to treat small business – defined as firms spending up to £10,000 per year on each fuel– fairly when they are billing... 

Schneider Electric is set to launch a new service which analyses building performance to help building and facility managers to identify hidden savings and inefficiencies. The French company’s Building Analytics software, due to be launched and demonstrated at The Energy Event in Birmingham 10-11 September, connects to every piece of mechanical and electrical equipment linked to a building management... 

The Energy Managers Association (EMA) has thrown its weight behind the government’s plans to introduce mandatory energy audits for large enterprises from 2015 – but has voiced its concerns that the scheme may put an unnecessary administrative burden on energy managers. Speaking to Energy Demand, Tim Mukasa, head of policy at the EMA said that the organisation was “largely positive” about... 

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has unveiled the “preferred bidders” to deliver its smart meter roll-out contracts, subject to final clearance, as an influential committee of MPs warned that the government needs to do more to enable smaller businesses to benefit from the scheme. Five companies have been named as the preferred bidders of the contracts. Capita PLC is in line for...