Power conservation dims in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

MUMBAI: Mumbai is living on borrowed power, and quite literally at that, but it shows scant interest in conserving energy. Maharashtra power department sources told DNA that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been turning a blind eye to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

Other municipal corporations like the Pimpri-Chinchwad and Thane have taken extensive measures for conservation, earning awards for excellence in energy conservation and management.

“Mumbai is getting uninterrupted power supply because other local bodies have implemented conservation measures,” a senior official told DNA. In Pune, Thane, Nashik and Nagpur, for example, most government rest-houses have switched to solar power heaters.

Thane Municipal Corporation passed a directive to give discounts on property tax if alternative water heating gadgets were installed in new buildings.

The Nagpur, Kolhapur, Ulhasnagar, Nashik and Kashimira Municipal Corporations have replaced streetlamps with energy-efficient lamps, and have discarded older pump sets.

The Energy Conservation Act specifies the setting up of a conservation fund and delegation of power conservation responsibility to local bodies. “None of these measures have been implemented in Mumbai,” he said. “There is no budget for conservation in our state.”

Audits conducted at Mantralaya show that electricity bills decreased by 20 per cent in 2005. In the last two years, however, the bills have reduced by only 6.9 per cent.

Officials said that in order to reduce the consumption of electricity conventional bulbs and tube-lights have to be replaced with energy-efficient bulbs, which will cost a lot. “The conversion of tube-lights to compact fluorescent lamps will cost us Rs160 crore,” Joint Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office Sudhir Thackre told DNA.

Officials said they sent directives to BMC in 2005 asking them to issue completion certificates to only those residential buildings that installed solar power heaters.

“We also told BMC to give certificates only to those commercial buildings with full-length windows to save power,” said an official. Except for a few five-star hotels and the JJ Hospital, none of the commercial buildings have full-length windows.

Commissioner Johny Joseph contends that BMC has not been lagging behind in conservation efforts. “We are conserving power at our pump stations and important places. As for solar power heaters, they will be implemented only in new constructions for commercial units and hospitals,” Joseph said.

Builders say conversation measures and rules are easy to implement only in bigger layouts.

“Installing solar power heaters, for instance, is a new rule and can be implemented only in bigger layouts where there is sufficient light available,” said VK Singh Thakur, managing director, Thakur Builders.

Officials feel a more serious approach by all departments is necessary to conserve power and energy. “We need to do more for conservation. It should not be seen as the responsibility of one department, but a social obligation for all departments,” said Subrat Ratho, managing director of the MSEB.