VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has advised Discoms and the AP State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation Limited (APSEEDCO) to prepare modalities to launch a pilot project on the promotion and sale of energy-efficient home appliances at the earliest to encourage domestic consumers to use such modern appliances to save electricity, money, and environment.
Accordingly, the Energy Department has approved the on-bill financing model and an upfront model for the pilot project of energy-efficient appliances. The pilot project will be implemented in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati. Based on the success of the pilot project, it will be extended to the rest of the State in a phased manner. As the domestic sector consumes about 25% of total energy, the project will help reduce peak demand, besides bringing down Discoms’ investment in network development and power procurement.
During a virtual meeting with Discoms and APSEEDCO, APERC Chairman CV Nagarjuna Reddy underlined the importance of promoting of energy-efficient appliances in a big way. APSEEDCO has proposed to supply energy-efficient star-rated appliances like LED tube lights, BLDC ceiling fans and air conditioners. It will submit a proposal to APERC soon for approval.
According to an estimate, only 35% of households in the country are aware of BEE star labelled appliances and there is a need for promoting basic energy-efficient appliances such as LED bulbs and tube lights which account for 61% of the domestic stock. Only 2% of households use energy-efficient ceiling fans and half of the AC-using households use 4 or 5 star label ACs. The APERC Chairman said enhancing energy efficiency in the State will benefit consumers as well as Discoms.
This will result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and a financial burden on households in the form of energy-saving. “Agencies like Discoms, APSEEDCO, APSECM, and the power sector, in general, should go for an integrated approach in coordination with all other departments/ stakeholders and strive to reduce CO2 emissions. Energy efficiency is vital in meeting environmental targets,” he said.
Officials informed that consumers will not be financially burdened as the repayment is mostly made out of the savings achieved in electricity bills. The proposed model for the usage of energy-efficient appliances will be purely a voluntary programme based on the interest of consumers. At the same time, there shall not be any financial burden on Discoms whatsoever is the proposed model.
According to a tentative estimate, the proposed implementation of a pilot project at the initial stage will result in energy savings of around 25 to 30% with the replacement of conventional tube lights with LED tube lights, conventional ceiling fans with super-efficient Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) fans and 5 star rated AC. Consumers could avail of benefits such as discounted price compared to the market price on upfront purchase, they added.
Power-saving mode
The pilot project will be implemented in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati
Only 35% of households are aware of BEE star label appliances
Only 2% of households use energy-efficient ceiling fans