Accra, Oct. 27, GNA - Operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were on Wednesday tasked to employ energy efficient technologies and energy conservation practices to reduce their operating costs.

Mr Stephen Duodu, Programmes Manager of Energy Foundation, said it was government's policy to recover the full cost of electricity services, adding "this together with increasing fuel prices has resulted in higher electricity tariffs than most businesses have known in the past".

He said the cost of energy was no longer going to be subsided adding that increases in tariffs would be done periodically hence the need to find ways and means of educating operators of SMEs to save energy.

Mr Duodu, who was speaking at a day's energy efficiency training programme for SMEs in Accra, stressed the need for operators to be schooled so they could analyse Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) bills. The seminar, which drew 60 SME Energy Managers, was under the theme: "Increasing Profitability through Energy Efficiency and Conservation."

It was aimed at equipping participants with knowledge to improve plant efficiency in a most cost effective way, save jobs as well as the environment.

The seminar, which comes in the wake of recent increases in electricity tariffs, was organized by the Energy Foundation in collaboration with the Ghana Association of Industries (AGI) and funded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Mr Duodu recounted the confusion over ECG bills over the years and said members should now be able to analyse the bills and know how much they were paying when it came to energy.

He told the participants that the Foundation had the expertise to assist businesses to identify and implement energy efficiency projects so they could reduce their operating costs.

To this end, Mr Duodu said, the Foundation was undertaking energy efficiency and conservation training for energy managers, engineers, decision makers and accountants to enable them to appreciate and mainstream energy efficiency and conservation in their operations.

Mr E.K.A. Dickson, an energy consultant, who briefed participants on "Energy Management in Industries", said the first step in energy conservation was "to understand electricity bills".

He, therefore, asked participants to use energy efficient and high quality equipment, and also maintain them regularly.

Mrs Awurabena Okrah, Executive member of AGI, urged the participants to learn and understand the rudiments that went into components of the ECG bills to save cost and enhance productivity.