Efficiency Leader with Sid Sheth 11 March 2021
The 2020 National Energy Efficiency Awards crowned Siddharth Sheth, Lead Energy Engineer with City FM Australia, as the 2020 Young Energy Efficiency Professional.
This month we’re profiling Sid, who leads a team of analysts and engineers as part of City FM’s Energy Centre, where he has demonstrated outstanding leadership as well as a focus and dedication to individual growth and the growth of the sector.
What is City FM’s role in the energy management market and Australia’s energy transition?
In Australia, City delivers FM and technical services, including energy management to over 2,000 partner sites for Coles, Target, Kmart, Bunnings, and Mycar. This places City in a position to directly influence the energy and emission footprint of these large multi-sited partners.
For our partners, City plays a multi-faceted role by being involved at all levels of their energy journey to ensure that all major systems are operating as efficiently as possible on the site level.
Moving up to a portfolio view, City ensures reduced energy wastage via ongoing remote energy monitoring and benchmarking using a centralised EMS, which both hosts a comprehensive set of site-specific information and sees the flow of interval meter data and weather information. We use this data and work in collaboration with our partners to identify and implement energy efficiency, demand management and renewable energy projects.
There is also a team of energy analysts managing thousands of utility accounts, influencing procurement decisions, and working with the energy and sustainability leaders in our partner organisations to craft their long-term sustainability strategy which is aligned with Australia’s energy transition towards use of renewable energy.
What do you enjoy about working for City FM?
I enjoy being part of a company that supports its team members to grow with the organisation. City values collaboration and innovation, which has created a workplace environment where continuous growth and improvement is encouraged and supported.
I have experienced exceptional leadership at all levels within City and am fortunate to have access to mentors within the organisation that have helped me reach my full potential. I have been able to gain a broader multi-disciplinary experience and upskill technically by achieving certifications such as CMVP and CEM along with enhancing ‘soft skills’ through City’s comprehensive six-month-long leadership program, called Passport-to-Leadership.
When not immersed in Australia’s energy transition, what do you do for fun?
I have a three-month-old son who is an absolute joy to be with. Besides that, during periods of lockdown, I have enjoyed catching up online with friends, and taking online courses to upskill myself in data analytics and BI. Pre-COVID times, I enjoyed weekly taekwondo sessions and the occasional game of cricket or table tennis.
What are you currently excited about in the energy world?
Corporates setting ambitious sustainability targets has provided a strong driver for solution providers to get creative with their offerings, leading to more options and competition, lower costs and complexity, and greater accessibility. This is a ‘win-win’ for all – planet, people and businesses, and an exciting and innovative time in the energy world.
Closer to my current day-to-day activities, improvements in technology, accessibility of electronics, data communication and storage services now allow us to measure, store, access and analyse more data. I am excited about the use of this data in a ‘smarter’ way to enable energy efficient and coherent operation of assets.
Why do you value being a member of the Energy Efficiency Council?
The EEC helps me remain up-to-date with all-things-energy in Australia. For example, regular member alerts or the weekly news roundups notify me of the latest in energy, such as new government grants. EEC also facilitates relevant training courses that allow me to gain certification and expand my skillset in energy efficiency.
Where do you see Australia’s energy and energy management markets in 2030?
With an increase in use of electronics along with human population growth, there will be a significant rise in demand for energy in 2030.
I see our energy grid continuing to transition into becoming increasingly decentralised, with energy storage deployed at scale supporting distributed generation dominated by renewable energy sources, such as intermittent solar and wind. Energy storage systems would also evolve, or perhaps mature, potentially as a result of electric vehicles becoming the predominant mode of transport.
A greater portion of sites will transition from a closed site-based automation system to a web-connected system which receives inputs from both local and external sources such as energy market signals. There is an opportunity for integrated automation systems to maximise energy and cost savings through considering site-specific tariffs and market signals along with onsite demands. I also foresee lighting and HVAC to become ‘smarter’ and easier to maintain.
As energy professionals, it will be important for us to remain flexible and up-to-date with the latest in the energy world to support individuals or organisations with solutions geared towards helping them achieve their sustainability goals.
Sid Sheth is Lead Energy Engineer with City FM Australia
Connect with Sid on LinkedIn.
This article was originally published in the March edition of Efficiency Insight.