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EXISTING buildings that are deemed energy-intensive must implement measures to improve their energy use or face a fine of up to S$150,000. This was one of the changes made to the Building Control Act passed in Parliament on Tuesday (Sep 10).

The penalty will be meted out under a new Mandatory Energy Improvement (MEI) regime, which aims to reduce the energy consumption of existing energy-intensive buildings.

In the debate at the Second Reading of the Bill, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann noted that buildings account for around 20 per cent of Singapore’s carbon emissions, and more than a third of its electricity consumption.

Some developments are highly energy-intensive – that is, they were not designed with sustainability in mind, or are not being efficiently run – but are not for now required to improve their energy efficiency, said Sim. “As a result, there is significant energy wastage, sometimes amounting to more than a quarter of the buildings’ overall energy use,” she added. “This translates to unnecessary emissions, and avoidable costs that building owners incur over the lifetime of their buildings.”

The MEI regime targets this group of energy-intensive projects, she said. It will require building owners to reduce energy consumption and maintain the improved energy performance for at least a year. It will be implemented in the third quarter of 2025.

For a start, the regime will apply to four of the most energy-intensive types of developments: commercial buildings, healthcare facilities, institutional buildings, and sports and recreation centres with a gross floor area of 5,000 square metres and up.

There are now more than 1,000 such buildings across the four types. Sim predicts that fewer than 100 of them will come under the MEI requirements.

Such energy-intensive developments account for up to a quarter of the total energy consumption of buildings collated and published in the annual building energy report of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), said the agency.

How it works

Under current requirements, all new buildings must be 50 per cent more energy-efficient than in 2005. All existing projects that undergo major retrofitting works or energy-use change must be made 40 per cent more energy-efficient than in 2005.

But there is now no requirement binding owners whose buildings have no major works planned.

Under the MEI regime, existing buildings with an energy-use intensity (EUI) above the 75th percentile will be subject to an energy-consumption audit. EUI is defined as the total amount of energy consumed in a building in a year, expressed as kilowatt-hour (kWh) per gross floor area.

The top 25 per cent of buildings across each building type with the highest energy consumption over three consecutive years will be deemed energy-intensive. This will be calculated based on energy-performance data that BCA has collated since 2013. 

Owners of these projects will be asked to conduct an energy audit and develop an energy-efficiency improvement plan to reduce the building’s EUI by at least 10 per cent. This lowered EUI must be maintained for at least a year.

An audit report containing the improvement plan will also be submitted to the BCA.

Measures set out in the plan must be implemented within three years of the submission of the audit report. These could entail simple changes such as the replacing of faulty sensors or installation of occupancy sensors, or retrofits such as upgrades to the building’s management system.

Those eyeing more extensive retrofits may apply for grants under the Green Mark Incentive Scheme for Existing Buildings 2.0, said Sim.

The scheme provides co-funding of up to S$1.2 million, depending on the Green Mark standard achieved and reduction in carbon emissions. Since its launch in 2022, the authorities have approved 11 applications and committed about S$1.3 million in funding support to building owners. 

Failure to comply with the requirements under the MEI regime will result in a fine ranging from S$10,000 to S$150,000, depending on the severity of offence.

The fine may also be compounded if the offence persists. For example, building owners who fail to implement the measures set out in the energy-efficiency improvement plan could face a fine not exceeding S$150,000. In the case of a continuing offence, they may face a further fine not exceeding S$1,000 for each day the offence continues to be committed. 

Sim said that owners may request for a waiver if there are already plans for redevelopment works or if the development is to be vacated in the immediate future.

BCA may lower the required 10 per cent reduction in EUI as well, if there is limited scope for further improvement, but this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, Sim added.

The EUI threshold will be reviewed every five years, with the next in 2029, added BCA.

Sim highlighted that the new MEI regime is an “important and necessary” addition to Singapore’s suite of strategies to accelerate the decarbonisation of its built environment. “It signals our commitment to bring all buildings, including the most energy-intensive ones, onto this journey of sustainable development,” she said. “It also recognises that no effort is too small to make a difference.” 

The initiative is also part of efforts to green 80 per cent of the island’s buildings by 2030 – one of the key goals in the Singapore Green Building Masterplan 2030.

Other targets in the master plan include an 80 per cent improvement in the energy efficiency of best-in-class buildings over 2005 levels by 2030, and ensuring that 80 per cent of new developments are Super Low Energy (SLE) buildings from 2030.

SLE buildings are those that achieve at least 60 per cent improvement in energy efficiency relative to 2005 levels.