Electricity savings could wipe out deficit” (January 11) is very interesting. A saving potential of 37 per cent in agricultural pump sets will be difficult to attain, given the fact that agricultural power in many states is either free or heavily subsidised. The least the state governments can do is to insist that power connections be given only when the pumps conform to efficiency standards. This yardstick can also be applied to hotels, hospitals, apartments and other users where the qualified manpower to assess the power savings is not available.
The problem of inefficient pumps proliferated after a series of concessions were given to small-scale manufacturers who made substandard pumps and both the government and the consumers had to live with power guzzlers.
The government should index excise and other duties on the basis of energy efficiency to promote the use of energy-efficient equipment. Support of various pump-manufacturing associations should be sought to stop production of inefficient equipment, and this will strike at the root of the problem.
MM Gurbaxani, Bangalore
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