Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) has initiated a project to explore the possibility of reducing power consumption by using energy-efficient irrigation pumpsets.
Speaking to The Hindu , Managing Director of Mescom Vijay Narasimha said that the company was the first to initiate a project of such kind.
He said the objective was to replace irrigation pumpsets being used with energy-efficient ones through private participation.
Mr. Narasimha said a private company would install energy-efficient irrigation pumpsets.
The cost of the power thus saved would be considered as savings and divided by Mescom and the private company according to a pre-defined ratio.
If for instance, the new pumpsets saved 40 units of power and the cost of each unit was Rs. 5, Mescom and the private company would divide the saved cost of Rs. 200 between them depending on the sharing ratio.
To determine whether this scheme was feasible, Mescom had installed electronic meters at two feeders – Kabaka in Puttur taluk and Manai in Udupi district – to gather data. The data collected through these meters would indicate the amount of power consumption, usage patterns and other information which would enable engineers to ascertain the technical feasibility of the project, Mr. Narasimha said.
Analysis of data
Mescom proposed to analyse the data gathered over six months — data collection began last December — and then approach business firms to determine their interest.
“There were a lot of takers initially for the Bachat Lamp Yojana, but interest died out when tenders were floated,” Mr. Narasimha said and added that the company would approach firms to determine their response and ascertain the pros and cons of the project.
If the companies asked for more data, then the company would continue the data collection for another six months, Mr. Narasimha said.
Installation of meters and data gathering itself would not cost much, he added.
