Those of you who want to own energy efficient vehicles will soon have an option to choose from the least energy efficient to the most efficient cars, thanks to a technical committee that has been constituted under the aegis of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). On another front, 20 buildings, including the Rashrapati Bhawan, are already compliant with BEE's Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). These are some of the initiatives that BEE is taking to ensure energy saving of 10,000 Mw by 2012.
Ajay Mathur, director general of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency tells Sapna Dogra Singh in an interview.
It's been nine months since Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was launched. What has been the progress on this?
So far, 20 buildings, which include nine government-owned buildings, have become ECBC compliant.
There is the Rashtrapathi Bhawan "" where Rs 30 lakh is being saved per annum through efficiency measures "" Parliament House, Shram Shakti Bhawan, Transport Bhawan, Sanchar Bhawan and Rail Bhawan. Next in line are Nirman Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan.
These landmark buildings have served as a proof-of-concept for the rest of the country. Another 80 buildings are on the way to energy efficiency. The energy service companies which implement these programmes are paid out of the savings that they manage to generate.
Is ECBC compliance mandatory?
No, it is a voluntary activity as of now. After all, energy efficiency is a personal virtue. Our aim is to ensure moniterable savings of about 10,000 Mw by the end of the current five year plan (2007-2012).
But isn't the whole exercise expensive?
Yes, on an average the total cost of building a new set up using ECBC would escalate by 20 per cent.
However, the amount of saving that's done balances out the increased cost. It can have an estimated reduction in energy use for new buildings at a range between 25 to 40 per cent.
Do we have the requisite manpower to conduct energy audits and recommend changes?
There are only 20 architects in the country who are ECBC experienced. We certainly need more experts in this field. Process is also on to train teachers of various architecture schools and colleges and also include ECBC in the architectural curriculum.
BEE is conducting seminars for architects to train them in ECBC and create awareness. Right now there are about five-six energy service companies like DSCL Engineering, Honeywell, Elpro. We would like this number to increase to 50 if not 100.
There has been some talk of fiscal incentives for energy efficiency?
There's need to provide right incentives to the companies. BEE has requested the state regulatory commissions to ask the distribution companies to reduce the tariffs for those buildings which are ECBC compliant. The regulatory commissions have shown positive response.
In terms of energy efficiency, how far is the country from where it should be ideally?
The energy intensity of the Indian economy is 0.17 kilograms of oil equivalent per dollar of GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. We would like it to become better. Energy intensity of the best in the world, like Japan, is 0.12-0.13 per cent.
What's the progress on making energy efficiency standards and labelling (S&L) mandatory for consumer electronics?
Government processes are slow and talks are on with the ministry of law on this. In the meantime, quite a few electric and electronic items have already adopted the BEE standards and labelling. I can say that the tube light segment has achieved 100 per cent labelling.
Likewise, about 70 per cent of air conditioners and over 90 per cent of refrigerators have got BEE labelling. Godrej refrigerators is soon launching a new line of refrigerators of five star labelling.
Which were the first few products to get BEE labelling when it was launched two years ago?
Tube lights by Surya Roshni, air conditioners by Carrier and refrigerators by Samsung are some of the products that got labelling in 2006.
And are the most efficient products finding a better market?
We think so. A third party assessment is on to get the exact numbers for air conditioners, refrigerators and tubelights.
In which sectors does the BEE track energy data?
There are about nine sectors from which we have sought energy data. This includes power stations, cement, steel, aluminum, pulp and paper, railways and textiles.
