VIJAYAWADA: With an objective to tap the energy saving potential and provide cost-effective solutions to improve energy performance in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the State government has requested the Union Ministry of Power to extend financial grant to take up energy efficiency measures on a large scale in MSME clusters in AP.
Chief secretary Aditya Nath Das has written a letter to the union ministry of power seeking the assistance and highlighting the steps being taken by AP government to fulfill India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution goals that help achieve high economic growth with lower per capita emission by enhancing energy efficiency and other measures.
The Chief Secretary said that the state government wants to lay a balanced emphasis on economic development and environment, besides promoting cost effective energy efficiency measures in the industrial sector, which is energy intensive and also has high carbon emissions.It may be recalled that the State government has already been implementing the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme successfully, achieving savings of 0.295 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) to 3,430 MU worth Rs 2,350 crore.
“Now, the government has focused on implementing energy efficiency measures in MSMEs as the majority of them have not implemented any energy efficiency or technology up-gradation measures since they were commissioned. Promoting energy efficiency in MSMEs will help in reduction of energy usage, more cost effective production, reduce operation and maintenance costs, improving the productivity and competitiveness of units thereby reducing overall carbon emissions and improving environment,” a statement from the AP State Energy Conservation Mission said.
APSECM, the State Designated Agency for energy efficiency initiatives, has conducted a detailed audit in three MSME clusters of fisheries in Bhimavaram, foundry units in Vijayawada and refractory units in East Godavari district as a pilot project with financial support from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. It is identified that the MSME sector holds immense potential in fostering energy efficiency and up-gradation of the technologies.