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Regional Dissemination Workshop on ESCO Market Assessment and On-Bill Financing Readiness Study in ASEAN
Jakarta, Indonesia, 15 December 2025 – The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) under the Asia Low-Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) Project, organised the Regional Dissemination Workshop on Energy Service Company (ESCO) Market Assessment and On-Bill Financing Readiness Study in ASEAN. The event was held at Hotel Novotel Cikini, Jakarta, on 15 December 2025 and gathered 71 participants, comprising 50 men and 21 women. The Workshop also launched the Policy Brief on Enabling ESCO Market for ASEAN’s Low Carbon Buildings Transition and Indonesia Country Report on ESCO Market Assessment and On-Bill Financing Readiness.
The event began with opening remarks from Hendro Gunawan, Deputy Director, Directorate of Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) of Indonesia. He emphasised that the building sector contributed 22% of regional energy consumption and 23% of total energy emissions in 2022, making decarbonisation of the building sector a strategic priority for ASEAN and Indonesia. He highlighted that Indonesia is targeting energy sector greenhouse gas reduction of 358 million tons of CO₂ under the NDC 2030, with 37% of the reduction expected from energy conservation efforts.
Following this, Julie Robles, ALCBT Regional Project Manager at Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), highlighted the role of energy efficiency as the most cost-effective pathway to reduce emissions and strengthen energy security across ASEAN. She emphasised that innovative models, such as ESCOs and On-Bill Financing, are essential to unlocking the investments needed for the region’s decarbonization goals.
Naing Naing Linn, Manager of Energy Efficiency and Conservation at ACE, highlighted ASEAN’s collective commitment in accelerating energy transition through ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026-2030, with an aspirational target to reduce 40% of energy intensity, increase 30% share of renewable energy in total primary energy supply (TPES), and 45% renewable energy in installed power capacity, by 2030. She emphasised that decarbonization in buildings is not merely a technological challenge but a financing challenge, and that innovative models, such as ESCOs and On-Bill Financing, are essential to unlocking investments at scale.
Photo 1. Opening Remarks from Hendro Gunawan, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia (left), Julie Robles, Project Manager, ALCBT Project, GGGI (centre), and Naing Naing Linn, Manager of Energy Efficiency and Conservation, ACE (right)
Experts from the Carbon Trust presented the key findings from the ESCO Market Assessment and On-Bill Financing Readiness Study, which covered Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The presentation provided a snapshot of the maturity of ESCO market across the four countries. Key barriers identified include regulatory bottlenecks, limited access to financing, and lack of creditworthiness among ESCOs. The session also covered On-Bill Financing (OBF) mechanisms as an innovative pathway to scale up energy efficiency investment and outlined eight targeted areas for regional action, including policy strengthening, inter-ministerial collaboration, and establishing a coordinated ASEAN-focused ESCO alliance.
The first panel discussion, moderated by Hazim Rosli from The Carbon Trust, focused on innovative financing approaches to support energy efficiency investments. Panellists from Indonesia’s MEMR, Climate Change Solutions Thailand, GGGI, Centre for Policy Development, and Maybank Indonesia shared experiences on establishing ESCO incubator structures, dedicated financing programmes, de-risking instruments, and the role of financial institutions in advancing energy efficiency projects. The discussion highlighted that policy-backed incentives, better project preparation, and active bank participation are crucial for scaling up ESCO implementation across the region.
Alexander Ablaza, Chair of the Asia-Pacific ESCO Industry Alliance (APEIA), delivered a virtual presentation on global and ASEAN ESCO market trends, barriers, and opportunities. He shared that the global ESCO market has been growing at approximately 9% annually, with China and the United States as the dominant players, while ASEAN markets are emerging as significant contributors.
The second panel discussion, moderated by Cahyo Adisaputro from ACE, examined the policy and market environment for ESCOs in the ASEAN buildings sector. Panellists includes Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) Thailand, ENGIE Southeast Asia, MAESCO Malaysia, and Sinarmas Land. The session highlighted a regional shift toward Energy-as-a-Service and BOOT models that reduce upfront costs and operational risks, especially for cooling-intensive markets. Stronger regulations, such as Malaysia’s Energy Efficiency Conservation Act, are driving compliance through audits and performance ratings. Success of ESCO model ultimately depends on a collaborative ecosystem linking governments, industry, financiers, and insurers to scale energy efficiency in achieving net-zero goals.
The workshop concluded with closing remarks from Wisaruth Maethasith from DEDE Thailand, in his capacity as ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation Sub-Sector Network (EE&C-SSN) Coordinator. He emphasised that achieving ASEAN’s energy efficiency targets will require sustained collaboration among governments, ESCOs, financial institutions, and development partners, and encouraged participants to continue the dialogue and knowledge exchange to accelerate the transition to low-carbon buildings in ASEAN.
About ALCBT
The ALCBT Project is a five-year multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to facilitate the nationwide transition towards Low-Carbon Buildings in five Asian countries: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The project seeks to institutionalise Building Carbon Assessment tools and approaches, build the capacity of public and private sector entities, and facilitate the mobilisation of financing for low-carbon building projects. The ALCBT project is being implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in partnership with HEAT International from Germany, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) from India, and ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE). It is supported by the Government of Germany through its Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) via the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
*This article was originally published on the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) website.
