The Government of India
and Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development
(BMZ) of the Government of Germany jointly finance the
Indo-German Energy Programme (IGEN). The Bureau of Energy
Efficiency (BEE) and the German Development Cooperation
GTZ are charged with implementation. The Programme is
the major contributor to the implementation of the Energy
Conservation Act of India. This Website is the portal
for all energy mangers and energy auditors, which will
be empowered by the Energy Conservation Act. Our objectives
are to facilitate dialogs among stakeholders, entertain
public opinion and assist in implementation of the provisions
of the Energy Conservation Act.
Energy Conservation Act 2001 and Bureau of
Energy Efficiency |
The economic development of a country is often closely linked to its consumption
of energy. Although India ranks fifth in the world so far as total commercial
energy consumption is concerned, it still needs much more energy to keep pace
with its development objectives. India’s projected economic growth rate
is slated at 7.4% in the period 1997-2012. This would necessitate commensurate
growth in the requirement of commercial energy, most of which is expected to
be from fossil fuels and hydroelectricity. India’s proven coal reserves
may last for about 200 years, but the limited known oil and natural gas reserves
may last only a few more decades, which is a cause of concern. The continued
trend of increasing share of petroleum fuels in the consumption of commercial
energy will lead to more dependence on imports and energy insecurity.
India’s energy intensity per unit of GDP is higher compared to Japan,
U.S.A. and Asia as a whole by 3.7, 1.6 and 1.5 times respectively. This is
mostly due to India being in a transition from an agricultural society to an
industrialized country increased urbanization and consumerism. In addition
the large performance bandwidth of Indian Industries with respect to specific
energy consumption is lowering the Indian average energy efficiency and contributing
to a higher energy intensity. The increasing global trade liberalization and
growing global competition have made productivity improvement, including energy
cost reduction an important benchmark for economic success.
The industrial sector in India is a major energy user, accounting for about
50% of the commercial consumption. There are wide variations in energy consumption
among different units within the same industry using comparable technology.
The energy saving potential in this sector may be as high as 25% making this
sector as having the maximum potential in the economy. Despite the large potential,
energy efficiency investments having financially attractive returns, only a
small fraction is being tapped actually.
Therefore, a paradigm shift in the approach to energy policy issues is needed – a
shift from a supply dominated approach to an integrated approach incorporating
a judicial mix of investment in energy supply side capacity, operational efficiency
improvement of designated industrial consumers in particular existing power
generating, transmission and distribution as well as end-use efficiency in
households and commerce. The policy goals and concepts will have to be shifted
from “energy conservation” to “energy efficiency”,
and from “energy inputs” to the effectiveness of energy use” and “energy
services.”
Recognizing the importance and benefits of energy efficiency,
the Government of India has enacted the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 which
has come into
force from 1st March, 2002
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