Fin. Min. directs central government offices to install energy-efficient appliances

New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): The Ministry of Finance on Friday issued guidelines for the mandatory installation of energy-efficient appliances in all Central Government buildings across India, owing to the voluminous consumption of energy by them.

In a statement, the Ministry directed that usage of LED-based lightings and energy-efficient cooling equipment such as fans and air conditioners in government buildings will lead to savings in the long run through reduction in energy consumption. To implement this, the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance decided to take up services of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, on nomination basis to assist various ministries and departments to retrofit energy-efficient appliances in all their premises across the country.

Currently, the EESL is the implementation agency for the Buildings Energy Efficiency Programme, which was launched in May 2017 by Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal. Under the programme, the EESL intends to bring in investment of around Rs. 1,000 crore, covering more than 10,000 large government and private buildings by 2020. It is estimated that about one crore LED lights, 15 lakh energy efficient ceiling fans, and 1.5 lakh energy efficient ACs will be retrofitted by the EESL in these buildings. Apart from retrofitting, EESL also aims to widen its services in areas like centralised AC system, energy audits, and new generation energy management system in buildings.

With the Buildings Programme, the EESL aims to enhance the savings portfolio and ensure energy security for each citizen. So far, it has installed about 94,000 LED lights, 3,000 energy efficient air conditioners, and over 400 energy efficient ceiling fans in these buildings. At present, the savings through 28 completed building projects across seven states are estimated to be over 11.03 MU, which is bound to increase with each completed project.

Earlier in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the National LED Programme to facilitate rapid adoption of LED-based home and street lighting across the country. The programme components, Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All (UJALA) and Street Lighting National Programme (SNLP) of EESL are currently under implementation in 29 States and seven Union Territories. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI