Enigin Update - India Set for Mandatory Energy Efficiency Scheme
INDIA’S economy is growing between 8 to 9 percent annually, spurring its ambition to become an economic power but making it the world’s third heaviest carbon polluter as energy demand rises.
India’s greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise as they look to improve power supply across the whole country, but they are acting to combat the countries escalating emissions.
India is relying heavily on two market-based trading schemes to increase energy efficiency and clean energy.
Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO of green policy consultants Vasudha India, said: "The policy roadmap India is adopting to curb emissions is innovative, something that will make industries look at making efficiency the centre-piece, rather than some step that follows an ineffective carrot and stick policy."
The national market-based mechanism, Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT), is the world’s first such scheme. It is a mandatory programme that will set benchmark energy efficiency levels for large industries, which make up 54 percent of the country's energy consumption.
PAT will allow businesses that use more energy than the set target to buy energy saving certificates, or Escerts, from those companies that use less energy.
The Indian government estimates the market to be worth around $16 billion by 2014 when trading starts. The number of Escerts awarded will depend on the amount of energy saved within a target year.
Starting in September this year a three year roll-out of PAT will begin, aimed at working out how companies can measure and report their energy use.
Concerns remain about how PAT will develop over time, because of a lack of data and trained manpower, with industry commentators said it still makes sense for India to opt for a national energy efficiency scheme rather than carbon emissions trading.
Girish Sant, energy analyst at non-profit think tank Prayas, said: "Because the target is intensity, so you are basically asking people to reduce their intensity and that matches the overall target."
The Indian government has pledged to cut carbon intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output. by between 20 and 25 percent by 2020, based on 2005 levels.
Indian based Enigin Distributors are helping businesses to gain control of their energy use by installing Enigin plc's Eniscope Real-time and Analytics system - which not provides energy management and monitoring but also provide accurate, visual real-time and analytical energy use data.
Picture of Indian Parliament by Adam Jackson1984
