The Brunei Darussalam Ministry of Energy and Industry (MEI) established three Strategic Goals set out in Brunei Darussalam’s Energy White Paper 2014 which was launched in 2014 to set out a framework for the government to address challenges and manage the projected risks in the energy sector in order to lead Brunei’s economy into a sustainable future as set out in Brunei Vision 2035:

• Strategic Goal 1: Strengthen and grow oil and gas upstream and downstream activities.
• Strategic Goal 2: Ensure safe, reliable and efficient supply and use of energy.
• Strategic Goal 3: Maximize economic spin-off from energy industry – boost local content and secure high participation of local workforce

The Strategic Goal 2 that focuses on the energy sector, has laid down an essential basis for improving EE and promoting energy conservation. Under this strategic goal, the government sets the target to reduce EI by 45% by 2035 with 2015 baseline which will be achieved through seven key policies and regulatory frameworks, namely (i) electricity tariff reform, (ii) EE&C building guidelines for non-residential sector, (iii) standards and energy labelling for products and appliances, (iv) energy management policy, (v) fuel economy regulation, (vi) financial incentives, and (vii) awareness raising

Brunei’s INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) stated that the Energy and Industry Department (EID) in association with the Ministry of Finance will identify suitable financial incentives which can be introduced in the country such as tax exemptions, tax reductions or rebate schemes on energy-efficient appliances and products. The white paper provides the general outline of implementation to achieve energy efficiency and conservation goals. It identifies four key priority initiatives on energy savings:

1. Power Generation Efficiency: The Department of Electrical Services (DES) and Berakas Power Management Company (BPMC) have set out plans to increase energy efficiency in the power generation from 23% to more than 45% in 2035. Plans include implementation of combined cycle turbine and co-generation power plant, reduction of partial load operation, improvement of transmission and distribution losses, mandate an energy efficiency standard for new power plants and reduction of gas consumption through integration of renewable and alternative energy to meet domestic power demand.
2. Transportation Sector: Under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Communications, measures towards energy intensity reduction include promotion of fuel efficient technologies, the use of hybrid cars for private transportation and introduction of fuel economy standards. These efforts are set to reduce about 13% of energy consumption from the BAU scenario which is about 5.9% of the total targeted energy intensity reduction by 2035. The Government through Centre of Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) has introduced a Brunei Land Transport Masterplan that promotes modal shift towards public transportation and will play a role in further reducing energy consumption in the sector.
3. Strengthening Policy and Governance in Energy Efficiency: In 2009, CSPS has conducted an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Study on the Roadmap Formulation and Policy Advice which as a result, designed seven key policies that came with the following recommendation:
   • Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling
   • Regulation on Building
   • Energy Management and Certification
   • Fuel Economy Regulation
   • Electricity Tariff Reform for residential sector
   • Financial Incentives
   • Public Awareness Raising
4. Residential and commercial buildings: Measures include applying “smart” tariffs, application of high-energy efficient technologies in buildings, installation of smart meters and evaluation of feasibility of altering tariff structure that promotes efficient consumption behavior. Implementation of the initiatives set out in the residential sector would reduce energy consumption to 36% from the BAU scenario which is about 16.2% of the total targeted energy intensity reduction by 2035. Similar measures in commercial sector could result up to 41% reduction which is about 18.5% of the total targeted energy intensity reduction by 2035.

 

The Ministry of Development (MOD) published the latest version of Building Guidelines and Requirement in 2017 that reflects the current state of Brunei’s building industry and also contains the Building Control Order (BCO) and the Building Control Regulations (BCR) in 2014. The Piawai Brunei Darussalam (PBD) 12:2017 elaborates Green Building technology and sustainable building construction in areas of energy efficiency, materials and resources, sustainable site management and indoor environment quality among others