CASE STUDY 1: U-ENERGY
UOB simplifies and amplifies Singaporeans’ green energy journey with U-Energy The bank seeks to help address the energy crisis and rising electricity costs, says UOB’s Jasper Wong. types that they can service, and also the type of projects that they can do. So for instance, the customer may choose to do LED upgrades, they may do solar, and so on,” Wong explained. The platform also comes with an energy savings calculator that gives the client a rough idea of how much energy savings they can achieve, and what kind of greenhouse gas emissions impact that they can have, amongst others. Clients only need to fill out some questions about their home and building as well as their consumption needs, and select flexible financing options. Clients can then choose either to do a direct capital expenditure (Capex) or direct purchase of the equipment needed; or they can apply for the energy-as-a-service model, where they don’t have to upfront the cost and pay as they are able to save from the energy efficiency project. U-Energy is Asia’s first integrated financing platform to drive the adoption for energy projects
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magine saving up to 40% of your current electricity costs whilst making your energy consumption more sustainable. It’s not just a fantasy; it’s a reality, according to UOB. But most Singaporeans apparently aren’t aware of this, and this is what pushed UOB to launch the U-Energy programme. “A lot of times when we approach our clients and say, ‘Hey, do you know that actually, you can save 30 to 40% of your energy costs by using an AI tool to monitor your electricity or optimise your energy usage,’ clients are very surprised,” Jasper Wong, Head of Construction and Infrastructure, Sector Solutions Group at UOB, told Singapore Business Review in an exclusive interview. “They know that there are key tools out there that can actually help them to save money. But because they are very busy, and they [do not] have anyone they can go and talk 30
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q1 2022
Jasper Wong
The energy crisis is one of the driving forces behind UOB’s decision to create and launch U-Energy
with to help them with their energy needs, they basically just set it aside. So promoting market awareness is something that U-Energy is striving to do, to help the industry,” he said. The bank didn’t just want to promote sustainable energy options—they also wanted to simplify sustainability for business and homeowners. That was how U-Energy came about. Unveiled in September, the programme—touted as Asia’s first integrated financing platform to drive the adoption for energy projects—can easily be accessed online. Better yet, customers signing up for the program will have easy access to nine energy partners to choose from who can help them meet their sustainable energy needs, depending on their preferences. “When they go to our website, they will see our partners, [who] will lay out what kind of building
Energy crisis, rising costs Wong named the energy crisis as one of the driving forces behind UOB’s decision to create and launch the platform. He added that there’s a lot of pressure being put on Asian cities in regard to whether they’re talking about energy usage, water usage, as well as the e-waste management— everything that needs power, and also everything that needs to be made more efficient. This demand for more energy, coupled with limitations in nonrenewable energy resources, is driving energy prices up, Wong explained. UOB found the answer in digitalisation. “It has accelerated the ability for us to effectively quantify and track and monitor in terms of how people use their energy,” Wong said, adding that through installing IoT and using AI technology, amongst other digital tools, you can better optimise your energy usage.
