Hurray !!!
21 April 2010
CHENNAI: The State government on Tuesday approved, in principle, the concept of energy savings through energy servicing companies (ESCOs) in urban local bodies.
Kumbakonam and Sivakasi municipalities will be covered on a trial basis, according to a senior official in the Municipal Administration Directorate. Totally, 29 municipalities will be taken up in three instalments.
The project envisages energy savings through improved performance of electrical equipment. For instance, the local bodies maintain street lights. A conservative estimate reveals that the power bills cost them Rs.30 lakh-Rs. 40 lakh annually.
A preliminary energy audit study, covering 45 municipalities, indicated that there was a possibility of 30 per cent energy savings.
Only 29 municipalities have now been chosen because the maintenance of street lights has been privatised in the remaining municipalities such as Tambaram, Alandur and Pallavaram.
The municipalities selected do not have to incur expenditure to implement the project. The identified ESCOs will study the profile of their energy consumption and replace existing street lights with energy-efficient ones. Better degree of automation will also be achieved while switching on or off the lights. The value of energy thus saved will be shared between the companies and the municipalities, depending upon the terms of reference, the official explains.
Among the advantages of the project that the local bodies may accrue are the reduction in their expenditure, additional revenue through carbon trading and re-deployment.
In August last, a workshop with elected representatives of the identified urban local bodies was held to disseminate the concept.
The representatives wanted the government to issue an order, giving its approval to the concept in principle.
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