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Report On Impact Of Energy Efficiency Measures

  • 09 May 2020

  • Recently the Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy released a report on the Impact of energy efficiency measures for the year 2018-19.
  • The report has been prepared by an Expert agency PWC Ltd, who was engaged by Bureau of Energy efficiency (BEE) for an independent verification.

Objective

  • To assess the impact of all the energy efficiency schemes/ programmes in India in terms of total energy  saved and reduction in the amount of CO2 emissions in 2018-19.

Background

  • With a total energy consumption of 553.9 Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (Mtoe) 1 in 2017-18, India stood the third largest energy consumer in the world after United States of America and China.
  • India also ranks highest in terms of growth rate of energy consumption in the world.
  • India’s energy consumption is expected to grow fastest among global economies and account for 11% of global energy demand by 2040.
  • As India, submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), intending to reduce emission intensity of its GDP, the role of energy efficiency would be crucial in complying with those targets.

Key Findings

  • Implementation of various energy efficiency schemes have led to total electricity savings to the tune of 113.16 Billion Units in 2018-19, which is 9.39% of the net electricity consumption.
  • Energy savings (electrical + thermal), achieved in the energy consuming sectors (e. Demand Side sectors) is to the tune of 16.54 Mtoe, which is 2.84% of the net total energy consumption in 2018-19.
  • The Energy Intensity of India (at 2011-12 prices) decreased from 65.5 toe per crore  rupees in 2011-12 to 55.8 toe/Cr Rupees in  2017-18.This  decline is attributed to the services sector  having a growing share of the economy, and  deployment of energy efficiency programmes  among other factors.
  • Industry sector has the highest contribution (49.17%) in the total energy savings while domestic sector has contributed to 33.34% of the total savings achieved during FY 18-19.
  • These efforts have also contributed in reducing 151.74 Million Tonnes of CO2 emissions, whereas last year this number was 108 Million Tonnes of CO2.
  • The study focuses on following schemes/programmes, viz. Perform, Achieve and Trade Scheme, Standards & Labeling Programme, UJALA Programme, ECBC – Commercial Buildings Programme, BEE Star rated buildings, Building Energy efficiency Programme, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), FAME Scheme, BEE – SME Programme, GEF – UNIDO – BEE Project, GEF – World Bank Project, Agriculture Demand Side Management Programme, and Municipal Demand Side Management Programme.

Significance

  • The study assesses the resultant impact of current schemes at national as well as state level for the FY 2018-19 and compares it with a situation where the same were not implemented.

Energy Efficiency in India

  • Government of India has undertaken a two pronged approach to cater to the energy demand of its citizens while ensuring minimum growth in CO2 emissions, so that the global emissions do not lead to an irreversible damage to the earth system.
  • On one hand, in the generation side, the Government is promoting greater use of renewable in the energy mix mainly through solar and wind and at the same time shifting towards supercritical technologies for coal based power plants.
  • On the other side, efforts are being made to efficiently use the energy in the demand side through various innovative policy measures under the overall ambit of Energy Conservation Act 2001.

Towards Energy Efficiency

  • The Energy Conservation Act (EC Act) was enacted in 2001 with the goal of reducing energy intensity of Indian economy.
  • Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was set up as the statutory body on 1st March 2002 at the central level to facilitate the implementation of the EC Act. The Act provides regulatory mandate for: standards & labeling of equipment and appliances; energy conservation building codes for commercial buildings; and energy consumption norms for energy intensive industries.

Schemes to Promote Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency

Standards and Labeling

  • The Bureau initiated the Standards and Labeling programme for equipment and appliances in 2006 to provide the consumer an informed choice about the energy saving and thereby the cost saving potential of the relevant marketed product.
  • The Corporate Average Fuel Consumption Standards (CAFC) for passenger cars has been notified on 30th January, 2014.

Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC)

  • It was developed by Govt. of India for new commercial buildings on 27th May 2007. ECBC sets minimum energy standards for new commercial buildings having a connected load of 100kW or contract demand of 120 KVA and above.
  • Currently, Voluntary Star Labelling programme for 4 categories of buildings (day use office buildings/BPOs/Shopping malls/Hospitals) has been developed and put in public domain.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE)

  • It is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). NMEEE aims to strengthen the market for energy efficiency by creating conducive regulatory and policy regime and has envisaged fostering innovative and sustainable business models to the energy efficiency sector.

Perform Achieve and Trade Scheme (PAT)

  • It is a market based mechanism to enhance the cost effectiveness in improving the Energy Efficiency in Energy Intensive industries through certification of energy saving which can be traded.

Bachat Lamp Yojana (BLY)

  • It is a public-private partnership program comprising of BEE, Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) and private investors to accelerate market transformation in energy efficient lighting.

Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA)

  • It was launched in 2015 with a target of replacing 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs and to nullify the high-cost of LEDs that acted as a barrier previously in the adoption of energy-efficient systems.
  • The objective is to promote efficient lighting, enhance awareness on using efficient equipment that will reduce electricity bills and preserve the environment.
  • It is the world’s largest domestic lighting project.