Schneider Electric presents own 'Smart City' initiative

CEBU, Philippines - As the Philippines’ awareness on energy efficiency has heightened, French energy management company Schneider Electric (SE) has taken advantage of this development by helping the industry and public sectors’ prime movers to introduce its solutions to conserve energy consumption and present its own “Smart City” initiative.

Schneider Electric recently held its second installment of the Xperience Efficiency 2013 roadshow in Cebu bringing together business, government and community leaders to engage, learn and drive change in today’s energy and sustainability challenges.

“Xperience Efficiency is a rare chance to see the future of energy management—all in one place,” said Ian Dela Rosa, Schneider Electric's country sales manager for the Philippines,.

 â€œWe have a unique opportunity to discuss the very problems we are all trying to solve. And these solutions will deliver energy management, energy access, and business process performance answers right across the energy chain, whether at home, work, across the grid, or in towns and cities,” he added.

Participants witnessed a display of innovative solutions, centered on Schneider Electric’s concept of Smart City. Positioned as an integrated system aimed at delivering efficiency, livability and sustainability, Smart City will transform all facets of the urban landscape.

As demonstrated at the Xperience Efficiency, the virtuous cycle of the system begins from infrastructure development to improvement of public services which creates a better, more livable place for its community. 

For Cebuanos, Smart City presents an alternative and long-term solution to energy management that cuts across all industries, including data centers and IT.  As an integrated process, Smart City gives businesses new ways and ideas to save money, increase efficiency, improve competitiveness and drive better performance in the workplace.

These solutions work together to address the challenges of energy prices, commercial unbalance due to energy imports, climate change and pollution and transform large, urban cities, like Cebu City, into a smarter and more sustainable community.

“It is important to understand that each city is a unique entity. History, ambition, size, geography, political culture, and economic asset base are all important differentiating factors. Every city is faced with similar challenges but the priorities will vary. In one city, electricity will be a short-term priority because of power blackouts; in another, electricity will be a mid-term one because of rising costs. But there is one ambition: to make every city smarter,” said Dela Rosa.

Xperience Efficiency 2013 kicked off in June in Washington, D.C., with events in France, United States, China, Colombia, Brazil, Russia and now East Asia including Philippines, to collaborate and share knowledge with customers, partners, industry thought leaders and governments on how to solve today’s energy and sustainability challenges.

Asia Pacific region, including the Philippines, has already overtaken North America in terms of efficient energy adoption. This is why the company has made its active stance in introducing its world-known energy management solutions.

 â€œMore and more people are now recognizing the importance of energy efficiency,” said de la Rosa.

According to De la Rosa, Cebu is ready to implement its “Smart City” bid, but a strong collaboration between the government and private sector should be further pursued.

Already, the private sector-led Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Board (MCDCB) has an ongoing program to push a “Smart [Cebu] City” implementation in coordination with the different local government units in the province and other stakeholders.

SE is a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the Group’s  over 130 thousand employees achieved sales of 22.4 billion Euros in 2011, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations make the most of their energy. —/JMD (FREEMAN)