Minister says FG will harmonise building guideline and code

The Federal Government says it will harmonise the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG) and the National Building Code to address the housing deficit in the country.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said this in Abuja on Thursday at a ceremony for the inauguration of the guideline.

Fashola noted that the harmonisation of the two had become necessary to embed the document into the National Building Code as its energy efficiency component.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BEEG was produced through a collaboration of the ministry with German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The project when implemented would tackle challenges of renewable energy and energy efficiency in buildings.

``Getting to uninterrupted energy would require some life style changes especially by citizens and that is why this document, the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline for Nigeria will become most important.

``Not just for us and professionals, Architects, Designers of houses but also as a tool for education to hopefully be replicated and propagated in our educational institutions.

``And as we finalise the National Building Code it is my hope that we will find a very suitable and appropriate place to embed this document into our country’s National Building Code.’’

Fashola noted that the BEEG would be utilised by professionals in the building sector to ensure energy efficiency.

He said the present insufficient energy (electricity) supply was a major bane to socio-economic development of the country which challenged the ministry to pursue all sources to achieve increments.

According to him, the challenge is not limited to Nigeria alone, which had prompted the head of ECOWAS governments to renew their commitments in 2013.

According to him, the commitment was geared towards the provision and access to sustainable energy service in the region.

Fashola said that the body also resolved to scale up issues of energy efficiency in building in the ECOWAS sub region.

These he said was through the adoption of ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP) as well as ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP).

The minister explained that reduction in energy usage could translate into reduction of burning of fossil-fuel in energy generation which in turn could mitigate on depletion of ozone layer and its implication.

In his speech, Hon. Mustapha Shehuri Minster of State, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing noted that 70 per cent of the energy generated in the country was consumed in buildings.

He urged professionals in built environment to key into the newly inaugurated guideline.

Shehuri further noted that when energy consumption was reduced in buildings, more energy would be made available for other sectors of the economy.

Mr Michael Zenner, German Ambassador to Nigeria said his country’s focus in Nigeria since 2002, had been on economic and energy sustainability, agricultural and educational development among others.

He said that Germany started cooperating with Nigeria in renewable energy and energy efficiency since 2013 through a joint funding of projects through the EU cooperation.

He pledged his country’s continued support for the project adding that sustaining energy production and energy efficiency should be considered greatly in the building sector.