President underscores importance of energy efficiency,
greater involvement of citizens
President felicitates winners of National Energy Conservation Awards 2012; lauds energy conservation efforts
Participating units have invested Rs. 1,948 crore in energy conservation measures; saved Rs. 2,886 crore a year; equivalent to 616 MW of thermal power
Energy Conservation Awards 2012 — Empowering the nation with energy conservation
New Delhi: Inaugurating the Annual National Energy Conservation Day at a function here today, the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, handed over the prizes to several industrial units and other establishments on the occasion.
The awardees represented Industries; Hotels and Hospitals; Office Buildings; Zonal Railways; State Designated Agencies; Thermal Power Stations; and Manufacturers of Electrical Appliances carrying star labels certified by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
The President also presented the prizes to 13 winners of the National Level Painting Competition under the National Campaign on Energy Conservation undertaken by the Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The competition is held every year at the School, State and National Levels. This year, the competition saw a record participation from 72,532 schools and 30.90 lakhs students from across the country.
Congratulating the children, the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said, “Today’s children are the citizens and nation-builders of tomorrow. The National Painting Competition organized every year by the Ministry of Power has seen involvement of school children in spreading the message of energy conservation in the country. We have great expectations from our children and hope and pray that they will excel in diverse fields and make the country proud.”
Commenting on the importance of energy efficiency, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said, “It is worthwhile to note that policies to promote energy efficiency, along with high energy prices and structural changes in the Indian economy towards the services sector have resulted in a sharp decline in energy intensity of the Indian economy. The direct contribution of policies to reduce energy use during the five years of the Eleventh Five Year Plan period has yielded 10,836 MW of avoided generation capacity. I congratulate the award winners from various industries for working together with the government in its endeavour to promote sustainable development.” Calling for an inclusive approach to energy conservation, the President called for greater involvement of the citizens: “We have to promote, universal access to energy, while, at the same time, promoting energy efficiency and a shift to cleaner energy sources is imperative.”
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of State for Power said, “The industrial units and other establishments, which have participated in this year award scheme of the Ministry of Power, have been collectively able to save 616 MW of equivalent avoided capacity.
The total annual energy savings of worth Rs. 2,886 crores is achieved by all participating units of National Energy Conservation Award Scheme- 2012. This shows the wonderful results that can be achieved by a few enlightened units. One can imagine the quantum of achievement if most of our industrial units follow the lead given and take up “Energy Conservation” in right earnest.
Union Power Secretary, Shri P. Uma Shankar, in his welcome address said that the Industrial units and other establishments have already realized the cost effectiveness of energy conservation measures over the years. So honouring their efforts on National Energy Conservation Day gives message to those other industrial units and establishments who may come forward to harness the energy saving potential through various approaches. In an initiative towards industrial energy efficiency, he informed that Government of India has launched an innovative market based mechanism called “Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT)” under National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE). This mandatory scheme is expected to save about 6.6 million tonne of oil equivalent in 2014-15 by 8 energy intensive industrial sectors.
“Apart from this, the Central Government is also in the process of notifying the corporate average fuel consumption norms for passenger cars which would result in a saving to the tune of about 10 million tonne of oil equivalent by 2020,” Shri P. Uma Shankar added.
Shri P. Uma Shankar commended the work of all, the award winners who have showcased their efforts in bringing energy efficiency in their areas of business and contributed to the betterment of our national economy”. In her vote of thanks address, Mrs. Jyoti Arora, Director General , Bureau of Energy Efficiency, appealed to all energy users of the country to utilize energy efficiently and make energy conservation a way of life.
In the award ceremony, the other Government dignitaries who were also present included Shri Ashok Lavasa, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power; Shri Devendar Chaudhary, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power and Smt. Abha Shukla, Secretary, BEE. BEE coordinates the Energy Conservation Awards Scheme of the Ministry of Power.
The award scheme has been in operation since 1991 and awards are given out every year on December 14, which is celebrated as National Energy Conservation Day. The awards have been a source of motivation for the participating units to undertake serious efforts in saving energy. Since the awardees suggest the potential for large-scale replication, they raise awareness that energy conservation plays a big part in India’s response to reduce global warming through energy savings.
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