Chandigarh, July 27: A structured consumer participation in managing power needs of the city would be the next step where the Chandigarh Administration is working to optimize and make city energy efficient, said Mukesh Anand, Chief Engineer, UT, who was the special guest at the roundtable discussions held at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry today.
PHD Chamber had organized the interactive session on “Demand-side Management and Energy Efficiency Options” with Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and MP EN Systems Advisory of Mumbai as knowledge partners.
Senior representatives of state electricity departments and regulatory authorities from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab along with officials of energy development in Chandigarh were present here. Other stakeholders included state designated agencies, technocrats, energy auditors, and industries association.
UT Chief Engineer Mukesh Anand reiterated Administration’s initiatives to setup a robust smart power-grid system for optimum utilization of energy in the city including replacement of 50,000 street lights with LED bulbs, and supply of LED bulbs, tube-lights and fans to the people, which has contributed to energy savings.
A Rs.2500 crore project has been approved for the city to replace all electricity meters with smart meters with interactivity with utilities so that the consumption could be monitored and peak-hour issues could be resolved, he said.
Even the old water pumps that bring nearly 80mld of water to the city from Bhakra canal were being replaced with more energy-efficient star-rated equipment, and in order to further contain the transmission losses, all overhead power cables would be put underground for which Government of India grant is expected, he informed.
Er H S Bedi, Joint Director of Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission emphasized the need for more effective community-based involvement in managing peak load requirements and avoid losses incurred by power grids through outrages and equipment breakdown.
Mahesh Patankar, Managing Director of MP EN Systems, suggested the proactive engagement with the end-users of power through awareness campaigns so that collectively they can contribute to the optimum utilization of resources.
PHD Chamber’s Punjab Committee chair Rupinder Singh Sachdeva said that energy-efficiency initiatives and use of non-conventional sources of energy would benefit the large section of MSMEs in the region who would be willing to come forward to assist in this initiative.
PHD Chamber’s regional director Madhu Pillai announced the formation of a special task forcewhich would regularly interact with all the stakeholders and provide a platform to suggest measures to help build the smart cities through smart utilization of resources by the citizens.
Ravinder Shan of solar energy providers HARTEK, Viney Bhim from UHBVN, Vikas Kadian of Haryana Energy Regulatory Commission, S.K. Sen of HP State Electricity Board, Shimla, Anil Gupta of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Patiala, Balkar Singh and Sanjay Bansal from Punjab Energy Development Agency, Sukhchain Singh from Haryana Energy Development Agency, amongst others participated in the discussions.
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