Energium 2004

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Express Textile

Issue dated - 8th July. 2004

Energium 2004 brings to light need and measures of energy efficiency

E-Tex Staff - Mumbai

Energium 2004, organised jointly by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) and the United States - Environmental Resource Centre (US-ERC), in Mumbai recently, emphasised the need for energy efficiency, through its two-day conference, ‘Energy Efficiency in Commercial Establishments’. Speaking on the occasion, Ms Leena Mehendale, executive director, PCRA stated, “It’s not just enough to have energy efficient solutions, a change in attitude is is important, creating awareness about energy is important.”

Said Mr Suneel Parasnis, director general, United States - Asia Environmental Partnership/USAID, western region, in his address, said, “We have reached a situation where we are forced to adopt energy efficiency as a way of life and business. We have no option.”

According to Mr V S Verma, director general, Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Member Planning, Central Electricity Authority, “Per capita energy consumption in India is still very low when compared to that in the developed countries. However, the pressure to save energy is just as urgent here. While effecting savings, energy efficiency also results in better cost-competitiveness, and also reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. All these issues are becoming increasingly important in a global marketplace.”

He further stated that India has an energy shortage of around 17.1 per cent, and even as the higher energy generation of 41,000 MW in the 10th Plan will be achieved, the demand for energy is also increasing very fast, as standard of living improves. In this scenario, energy conservation and efficiency is the only way to move ahead,” he said.

According to Ms Mehendale, “There is still a lot that needs to be done towards energy conservation and efficiency. Awareness is sadly lacking. The Bureau of Indian Standards has prescribed norms for manufacturing of equipment, which have to be voluntarily applied, but we have come across a number of equipment which do not meet these standards. At times, simple adjustments in the design of equipment can lead to immense energy saving and better efficiency, but this is not done due to lack of knowledge. At other times, standards are not met as these require some amount of investment, making the product that much costlier, so energy efficiency is sacrificed for low costs. We have still a long way to go in creating awareness about energy efficiency and then getting people to adopt such systems and solutions.”

Speakers at the conference included Dr Pramod Deo, member, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission; Mr S Padmanaban, senior energy and environment advisor, USAID; Mr A U Diggikar, director general, Maharashtra Energy Development Agency; Dr Naval Karrir, director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; Mr E S Balasubramaniam, DGM, State Bank of India; Mr Jaisingh Dhumal, chief manager, ICICI Bank; Mr Abraham Varghese, head, energy management group, Enercon Systems; Ms Rupa Devi Singh, director, power practice, CRISIL; among others.

Dr Pramod Deo, in his paper on ‘Regulatory Issues and Energy Efficiency in Commercial Establishments’ spoke about the Electricity Act 2003 (EC 2003), which addresses the issue of improvement of energy efficiency directly for supply options, while the demand side is left to the ingenuity of the state electricity regulation commissions (SERCs). “It is well known that in order to give rightful palce to demand side management options, the regulators need to adopt Integrated Energy Resource Planning (IREP). IREP evaluates demand and supply-side options and determines the optimal energy service strategy that takes account of economic and environment factors. This brings into sharp focus the use of alternative energy supply options.”

Mr S Padmanaban, in his paper on ‘Policy and program initiatives to advance energy efficiency in commercial establishments’ spoke of the need for design of conservation strategies in commercial establishments. “There was a misconception that buildings in India did not consume much energy. However, the ground realities were different: in city after city air conditioning was beginning to grow rapidly and together with lighting, is a major contributor to peak load. Today, efficiency opportunities are being recognised by commercial builders, building appliance vendors, architects and design firms, etc.” He further stated that three key areas need to be addressed - regulations and market-driven prices, innovative financing with emphasis on risk coverage, and transforming technologies to reflect enhanced energy efficiency.

The push to adopt energy efficient solutions and systems is also coming from the financial sector, which has put in place schemes to boost investment in such ventures. The State Bank Of India (SBI) has initiated the ‘Energy Efficiency Project’. “An amount of Rs 190 lakh has been set apart for implementation of this pilot project, covering 140 units across the country. The bank will identify units enjoying credit limits which have investments in plant and machinery less than Rs 10 crore. Consultants will be empanelled at various centres and walk-in audits conducted with their help. The consultants will study all aspects of energy management, as per the bank’s standard format, prepare detailed project report on energy efficiency measures and its implementation,” said Mr E S Balasubramanian, DGM, SBI.

Other topics discussed at the summit were the latest energy saving technologies, making buildings energy efficient, ESCO approach to guaranteed energy savings, energy auditing, etc.