Green gadgets to save power at AP govt hospitals
VIJAYAWADA: Aiming to improve the quality of facilities at all the hospitals in the State, the Health, Medical and Family Welfare (HM&FW) department is contemplating replacing all the existing electrical appliances with energy-efficient ones.
In the first phase, energy efficiency measures would be taken up in seven of the 22 teaching hospitals with the financial support of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
At a meeting with the Andhra Pradesh State Energy Conservation Mission (APSECM), Principal Secretary of HM&FW KS Jawahar Reddy said that the replacement of old appliances with energy-efficient ones would be done on a war footing.
He welcomed the gesture of BEE to offer grant-in-aid for implementation of the same at hospitals in the State. Explaining the initiatives of the State government to strengthen healthcare facilities in the State, Jawahar Reddy observed that modern equipment and technologies had led to higher energy intensiveness in the hospital sector.
“Hospitals and health systems can achieve significant cost savings quickly without much up-front investment by reducing energy consumption,” Jawahar Reddy noted.He also explained the other schemes of the State government aimed at providing healthcare service to the poor.
According to information, the initiative would first be implemented at five hospitals in Visakhapatnam including Regional Eye Hospital, Government Victoria Hospital and RCD Hospital, Government Dental College in Vijayawada and Government Fever Hospital in Guntur.
According to APSECM officials, the expected energy savings after implementation of energy efficiency measures in the seven teaching hospital buildings in the first phase shall be 1.32 million units (MU) per annum, amounting to monetary savings of Rs 95 lakh per annum. In the remaining 15 hospitals, the services would be extended with support from the Energy Efficiency Service Ltd (EESL) under the Energy Services Company (ESCO) model, the officials informed the Principal Secretary.
Energy Secretary Srikant Nagulapalli has assured 100 per cent uninterrupted quality power to hospitals by further improving the power infrastructure facilities.He asserted that the energy efficiency measures would help reduce peak-hour demand of the health industry.The EESL is keen to support the State government in implementing the energy efficiency project at around 200 - 250 general hospitals and 1,147 primary health centres (PHCs).