State-run Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to retrofit lighting and cooling appliances in 3,000 buildings with energy efficient ones and will invest Rs 307 crore for the project.
Under the agreement, signed with the Maharashtra government’s public works department, EESL will invest Rs 307 crore for the project while the state will pay the company from the savings they accrue in their electricity bill over a period of five years.
Under this intervention EESL will install about 26,500 energy efficient air conditioners, 1.1 million LED lights and 2,50,000 ceiling fans resulting in about 120 million unit saving – which is about 48 per cent reduction from baseline consumption.
The cost savings on electricity bills out of the initiative is expected to be Rs 115 crore annually.
The project is expected to complete by 2019 and the installation of energy efficient appliances in nine PWD buildings has already been completed across cities like Mumbai, Aurangabad, Amravati, Nasik, Kolhapur, Pune, Nagpur and Maharashtra Sadan building in Delhi.
“Through the Buildings Energy Efficiency Programme, we want to bring in uniformity and obviate the need for state and Central governments to allocate capital expenditure for building upgrade. The money saved from this intervention can be used for social welfare,” EESL Chief General Manager (Technical) SP Garnaik said.
In India, the building sector accounts for approximately 30-35 percent of the total energy consumption and is growing at a rate of 8 percent annually, he said.
“We intend to invest to the tune of Rs 1000 crore covering more than 10,000 large government and private buildings in next 2-3 years,” he added. Reported the PTI.
