The Hindu Business Line : Govt will lead by example on energy conservation effort

The Centre, in consultation with States, is working on putting in place a legal framework requiring Government departments to compulsorily go in for procurement of energy-efficient and environmental-friendly products.

A statute, ordinance, or a policy statement mandating the procurement of only energy efficient product and environmental-friendly products by Central and State-owned Government departments is in the works, Government sources said.

The Indian Government Sector, including the Centre, State and municipal bodies, present a substantial opportunity for energy savings, given that the total planned annual energy-related expenditure for the current fiscal alone is pegged at a massive $15.75 billion, which will include expenditure on capacity addition, energy distribution, implementation of various programmes and procurement of energy-related products.

International workshop

As a way forward, the Centre plans to take a leaf out of similar initiatives initiated by other countries, including the US and China. These countries, besides several Asia Pacific Partnership nations, have been invited to an international workshop to be held here shortly, where sharing of experiences and lessons learned from government procurement programmes in these countries would be taken into account.

Besides the Centre, State Governments and municipal bodies have also been invited to the workshop.

According to sources, once a broad consensus with State Governments is arrived upon on the issue, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the Ministry of Power is likely to be entrusted with the task of designing a statute, ordinance, or policy statement requiring energy efficient purchasing by Central and State-owned Government departments.

“The move would basically ensure Government bodies lead by example and act as catalysts for market transformation by leveraging the substantial purchasing power to create a market for energy-efficient products. In addition to creating a market, the policy to procure energy-efficient products would bring down energy costs without compromising quality,” an official involved in the exercise said.

Saving cost

Bulk procurement contracts with leading vendors and manufacturers of energy-efficient products can also result in cost-savings across the board, the official said.

The proposed two-day workshop, slated to kick-off on July 13, would focus on information exchange, development of consensus on good practices and a discussion of the potential adaptation and application of these practices to support Indian partners in enhancing energy efficient government procurement.

International participants include the United States Environment Protection Agency, United States Agency for International Development, the National Development and Reform Commission of China and China Standards Certification Centre.

From the Indian side, the Office of Director General of Supplies and Distribution (DGS&D), representatives of State Public Works Department of states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and New Delhi and representatives from Central Ministries including Power, Railways and Defence are expected to be part of the deliberations.