'Energy efficiency' project in a limbo

By Divya Sreedharan

BANGALORE, SEPT. 6. Shouldn't projects to help conserve electricity be carried out as efficiently and speedily as possible?

Unfortunately, one ``energy efficiency'' scheme is being inordinately delayed. Interestingly, the endeavour involves three well-known buildings in the City -- the Vidhana Soudha, the MS Building and the Visvesvaraya Towers.

These structures were supposed to come under a novel proposal that would have reduced their energy requirements by at least 30 per cent. But the Government agency which conceived the project -- the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) -- is no longer concerned with it. Instead, sources in KREDL said that the plan was now with the Public Works Department (PWD).

It was the then Managing Director of KREDL, Mr. C.S.Vedant, who first spoke about the project in December last. Mr. Vedant said that the three buildings annually consumed power worth Rs. 1.3 crores. He attributed the enormous power bill to the ``excessive lighting, air conditioning and use of old elevators.''

At that time, Mr. Vedant said the energy efficiency project, would see ``retro fitting'', i.e., installation of electronic ballasts in the tubelights to replace the old mechanical ballasts. ``The new ballasts will consume 30 per cent less energy,'' he said.

In April this year, Mr. Vedant was transferred to the Forest Department as Conservator of Forests.

When The Hindu contacted KREDL to enquire about the progress of the project, the Technical Officer, Mr. V.Ramesh, said it was no longer under the KREDL. ``The PWD is looking after it now. But the company that will undertake the plan has not yet submitted the DPR (Detailed Project Report),'' he said. He said that the Assistant Executive Engineer (PWD), Mr. Kantarajappa, was now in charge.

Mr. Kantarajappa confirmed that the project was on. ``The project is being undertaken by the City-based Saha Sprague Limited. It is a Rs. 14-crore project,'' he said. Saha Sprague Limited will invest the entire amount which will be recovered on energy savings.

``Now, the three buildings consume power worth Rs. 1 lakh a month. With this project, the cost of energy consumption will come down to around Rs. 60,000. Of that, 75 per cent will go to the company and 25 per cent to the department,'' he said.

But the official could not say when the project will take off. ``The company has not yet submitted its baseline calculations. They were supposed to do that in April,'' he said.

The telephone number of the company provided by the AEE turned out to be that of an office on Dickenson Road, Manipal Centre, here and efforts to contact it proved unsuccessful as the telephone was not answered.

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