The Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency

Providing energy efficiency excellence through networking, capacity-building and empowerment is the vision of the Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency (SAEE).

The SAEE is a non-profit energy efficiency co-ordinating body and a driver of networking, information dissemination and awareness creation in all matters relating to energy efficiency and its associated industries.

As a chapter of the US-based Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), the SAEE has access to a source of information within the dynamic field of energy efficiency, energy engineering and energy management, renewable and alternative energy, power generation, energy services, sustainability, and all other related areas
of engineering.

As a growing professional association, the AEE’s overall strength is augmented by its strong membership base of more than 13 000 professionals in 81 countries, and its widely recognised energy certification programmes. Its network of 70 local chapters located throughout the US and abroad meets regularly to discuss issues of regional importance.

The SAEE sees its purpose as providing networking opportunities to all energy stakeholders in South Africa and southern Africa.

With a full array of information outreach programmes to create awareness from technical seminars, conferences, books to critical buyer-seller networking trade shows, job listings, certification programmes, and even its own radio program called The Green Hour, the SAEE and AEE offer a variety of information resource tools to live up to its purpose.

The foresight and guidance provided is made possible by the Board of the SAEE, who collaboratively can boast 100 years’ experience within the energy engineering and energy efficiency industry. Clear management and direction has equipped industry experts to utilise the available networking and information dissemination platforms successfully.

Annual Energy Awards are presented by the SAEE to persons and organisations that excel in the field of energy efficiency, and have gone the extra mile for the good of the cause. These awards contribute to establishing credibility to the energy engineering profession.

Nominations for awards opened in April 2011 and the categories this year are: Best Project, Energy Newcomer of the Year, Energy Company of the Year and an Excellence Award.

The Dr Ian Ernest Lane Hall of Fame is awarded on a regular basis to give credit to persons who have delivered exceptional service to the energy efficiency and related industries so that such exemplary acts can be honoured and remembered.

Nominations for the Energy Awards close on 30 September 2011.

For more information on the awards, visit www.saee.org.za.

Capacity-building and training is a purpose the SAEE fulfils through facilitating and overseeing the Energy Training Foundation’s (ETF) activities. International and national accreditation is awarded to the training offered by the ETF, and this initiative has delivered in excess of 400 certified professionals who now service the southern African market and assist organisations in reaching energy efficiency targets.

Various courses are offered for Certified Energy Management, Certified Energy Auditing, Certified Measurement and Verification and Certified Carbon Reduction Management – professional status is certified by the AEE and is internationally recognised.

The next certification courses take place during the week of 24 to 28 October 2011 at Emperors Palace in Gauteng.

For more information on the ETF, visit www.energycyberneticstraining.com.

The Energy Efficiency @ Work convention and exhibition, the Southern African Energy Efficiency Convention (SAEEC) is the flagship event of the SAEE and annually draws more than 60 knowledgeable speakers from across the world to address a niche audience of delegates.

This year, the SAEEC2011 will be held on 16 to 17 November 2011 at Emperors Palace in Gauteng.

Great opportunities are created for exhibitors to display their products, solutions and services to delegates who attend from across the continent. Opportunities exist for persons to present case studies, share knowledge on new solutions, and discuss matters surrounding the energy efficiency and related industries by presenting a paper. Sponsorship opportunities also exist.

This year, the SAEEC2011 has received a technical sponsorship from the IEEE PES section, which places IEEE-submitted papers through a peer-review process, ensuring top-quality informative papers to be delivered.

For more information on the convention and exhibition, visit www.saeec2011.org.za.

The Mining and Industrial Energy Optimisation (MIEO) chapter of the SAEE was borne from a need to service the energy-intensive organisations of the country with a specific focus on industrial plants and mines. These industries, being the core of the country’s economic development, are seen as a focus area for the SAEE to enhance the visibility and the importance of energy efficiency – not only to the benefit of the country as a whole, but for each energy-intensive user’s future development and growth.

The MIEO takes a well-prepared information programme to industries and mines throughout the country every year. This year, venues include Witbank, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Midrand, Rustenburg, Durban and Polokwane.

For more information on MIEO, visit www.mieo.org.za.

With the imminent introduction of tax incentives for companies that can prove energy-efficiency savings, the SAEE established the Council of Measurement and Verification Professionals of South Africa (CMVPSA), an independent measurement and verification (M&V) body that represents the M&V industry and ensures the quality of M&V services and service providers are credible, trustworthy as well as transparent.

A primary requirement for companies to benefit from this tax incentive is that they need to make use of independent M&V professionals, certified by an independent M&V professional body – which is a need the SAEE now fills.

For more information on the CMVPSA, visit www.cmvpsa.org.za.

The SAEE has joined forces with Gareth Burley, a radio presenter on Kingfisher FM in Nelson Mandela Bay, in starting a national conversation about energy efficiency. Dubbed “The Green Hour”, this energy-efficiency radio programme will be hosted by Gareth on Mondays between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and was launched on 4 July 2011.

While this is a pilot project based in the Eastern Cape, the programme material will be made available weekly to a Web pod of 25 other national radio stations to use at their own discretion, as well as being made available on various social networks, blogs and websites.

Online broadcasting is available from www.kingfisherfm.co.za and news feeds can be found by joining the Facebook group The Green Hour – Kingfisher FM and GreenHourSA on Twitter.

For more information, contact Yolanda de Lange on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or listen to the latest show recordings on

By becoming an SAEE member, you will help us create awareness so that your business can grow too!

Become part of a distinguished group of energy efficiency professionals, which attends to specific needs of the industry; keep up to date with the latest developments around the SAEE and matters concerning the energy efficiency sector; and build up new business relationships and strengthen existing ones through participating in the many initiatives offered by the SAEE – for a mere R45 per month individual membership and less than R500 per month for corporate members.

Membership is open to all energy stakeholders as individuals, institutions or corporate organisations in South Africa and southern Africa.

Already, the association has seen participation from members in countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia as well
as Mozambique.

For more information on the SAEE, contact Danielle Badenhorst on 018 293 1499 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .