A unit saved is a unit generated

R. Balaji

Energy efficiency in the industry is a given but it is yet to extend to the commercial, domestic and agriculture users. This can be expedited through policy support in the form of fiscal and a non-fiscal incentives, feels a CII task force on infrastructure.

The task force, headed by Mr Ajit Chordia, a leading developer of commercial, residential and IT space in Chennai, has suggested to the State Government a scheme to conserve power. The proposal dubbed “Energy efficiency improvement — the least cost solution to reduce power deficit” envisages saving over 100 MW of power in Chennai alone.

Mr Chordia said that new constructions generally follow energy efficiency norms laid down in the Energy Conservation Building Code. But the ECBC guidelines have to be incorporated in the developmental control rules to ensure strict adherence. Similarly, existing buildings too have to move to energy efficiency and this could be encouraged through incentives.

For instance, if 100 MW of power could be saved through investments in energy efficiency, the Government too saves on the investments involved in increasing the generation capacity and containing electricity subsidy. The Government buys power at high cost and sells low to consumers, he pointed out. The savings could be shared with the public in the form of small incentives, such as a rebate, a waiver on electricity duty, or exemption from power cuts.

This could prove a significant development in the light of the 8-9 per cent power deficit in the country and the 20 per deficit in recent times in Tamil Nadu due to a 2,000 MW shortfall in power generation. Energy efficiency improvement offers a practical and fast solution.

In Tamil Nadu, the domestic segment consumes about 67 per cent of the power, commercial 27 per cent, agriculture 25 per cent, industrial 2 per cent and others 9 per cent.

The commercial sector, in particular, would be among the low-hanging fruits in terms of extending energy efficiency measures because of the high power tariff and concentrated demand. Chennai has seen major developments over the last four years with IT buildings, manufacturing units and apartment complexes cropping up in and around the city.

The power demand in Chennai region alone is around 1,500 MW, of which, around 400 MW is consumed for air-conditioning. The task force believes that nearly 100 MW of power could be saved from energy efficiency measures in large buildings.

Why is it attractive?

Consider the alternative. It would cost over Rs 600 crore to add 100 MW of generation capacity, a process that could take years. Another option is for the State utility to continue to buy the power for several crores of rupees every year at about Rs 8 a kWhr while it sells it cheaper. But to encourage energy efficiency, a portion of the cost saving could be used as an incentive for consumers to invest in energy efficiency.

The State Government should put in place a policy to support such a proposal, feels the CII taskforce on infrastructure.

The CII task force suggests that as an initial step a study would be needed to identify the buildings, based on willingness of the owners to participate in the programme, carry out an investment grade audit and implement a demo project through energy service companies identified through bidding and negotiations. This would be implemented in 10-20 buildings. A similar model exists for public sector buildings where the cost of energy efficiency measures is paid from the savings on power cost.