From hotels to industries, Haryana goes for energy audit

CHANDIGARH - Hotels, hospitals and several industries in Haryana have taken to a new fad - getting an ‘energy audit’ done. The exercise is aimed at plugging wastage in energy consumption, thereby reducing cost.

With energy saving initiatives suggesting that up to 30 percent of energy costs in high-utilisation sectors could be reduced, the new Energy Audit Scheme of the Haryana government has evoked an overwhelming response.

“The Department of Renewable Energy has received proposals for energy audit from several industries and other commercial establishments. The department has sanctioned Rs.500,000 for this purpose,” Haryana Power and Renewable Energy Minister Mahender Partap Singh said here.

Officials of the department say the energy audit proposals have been received from Hotel Leela-Kempinski (Gurgaon), Pushpanjli Hospital (Gurgaon), Pee Empro Exports (Faridabad), Neetee Clothing (Gurgaon), Institute of Special Planning and Environment Research (Panchkula), Radnik Exports (Gurgaon) and four milk plants at Sirsa, Jind, Ballabgarh and Rohtak under the scheme.

“These institutions have submitted the undertaking to implement the energy audit report,” Singh said.

“The energy audit of these buildings is to be carried out by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), the approved energy auditor. There is a potential of saving energy consumption of 30 percent in these institutes or buildings.”

“Energy audit is a tool to identify areas where excess energy consumption or wastage of energy is taking place - in industrial plants or buildings. It is compared with an estimate of the minimum energy required to undertake the process and suggesting best ways to optimise the energy consumption leading to energy saving and money saving in electricity bills,” the minister added.

The state government is offering incentives to the establishments going in for energy audit.

“Under the scheme, owners of buildings are provided with financial assistance at a rate of 50 percent of the investment grade energy audit cost with maximum limit of Rs.50,000 provided they undertake to implement the energy audit report,” a senior department official told IANS.

Under the scheme, inefficient lighting, air-conditioning systems and other equipment in industries, private establishments, government, semi-government, institutional and commercial buildings would be replaced with energy efficient devices.

“The investment on implementation of energy audit recommendations is done by building owners and this entire investment cost can be recovered within two-three years through saving on electricity bills,” the official said.

The department has estimated that the scheme has an energy conservation potential of 622 MW in the state.

Singh pointed out that the department had earlier got the energy audit of Haryana Raj Bhavan (Governor’s house) here and had implemented the audit report under which all the inefficient fixtures were replaced with energy efficient devices at a total cost of Rs.16.16 lakh (Rs.1.61 million), which has resulted in an annual saving of 120,000 units of electricity amounting to Rs.4.8 lakh annually.

“The entire cost of replacing the lights and equipment would be recovered in three to four years,” Singh added.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s residence here also got energy audited two years ago. The investment cost of Rs.6.67 lakh would result in an annual energy saving of Rs.4.16 lakh and the cost is likely to be recovered within one or two years, the official said.

The department has got energy audit of 10 big government buildings conducted and implemented it in the state at a cost over Rs.9.84 lakh.

“These projects would result in a saving of 9.8 million units of power, which would lead to a saving of Rs.4.26 crore per annum towards electricity bills with a one-time investment of about Rs.7.32 crore,” the official added.

The energy audit was conducted and implemented in buildings of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd, HAFED, Rajhans Hotel (near Faridabad), Indian Oil (R&D) centre, Education Board, and the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)