Having persuaded its consumers to switch over to Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) from regular bulbs as a power-saving measure in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) will replicate it throughout the State soon, said its Chairman and Managing Director C.P. Singh, on Friday.
Delivering the special address at a conference on ‘Energy self sufficiency – the future' organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), he said that the project implemented in Cuddalore on a pilot basis for the last two months was doing well and the officials were working out the modalities and logistic issues before the actual implementation throughout the State.
“Owing to the continuous rains, the districts are worst hit and hence the bulb replacement work is going slow. We have assigned the task to two agencies for distribution of CFLs. It will be done in two phases.
The first phase will cover 22 districts including Chennai. Every household will be given four CFLs at a rate of Rs.15 each. There are 1.6 crore household and this would translate to savings of 600 MW to 800 MW,” Mr. Singh said.
Talking on the theme ‘Forecast of power scenario in Tamil Nadu,' Mr. Singh said that they were in the process of replacing old agricultural pump sets with energy-efficient ones in five years and that would lead to a savings of about 800 MW and reduce the energy deficit significantly.
Mr. Singh also said “the power generation capacity in the State will increase by 1,500 MW this year, 2,500 MW next year and 5,000 MW during the 12th Plan Period. Over a period of five to seven years, 18,000 MW of power will be augmented by the State Government and private sector at a cost of Rs.90,000 crore. We have started the work so that we will never land up in this kind of situation. We have also formed 12 groups to bring the distribution losses from 19 per cent to 15 per cent over the next there years.”
In his keynote address, R. Tiwari, General Manager – Gas Marketing, GAIL (India) Ltd, said that the national gas resources in India were not evenly distributed owing to lack of infrastructure and proximity of sources to nearby markets. However, the infrastructure would be augmented with around additional 9,000 km of pipeline at an investment of $9 billion by GAIL and RGTIL by 2013-2014
According to him, the southern region had approximately 16 per cent of total gas pipeline network. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh accounted for 14 per cent of country's consumption, while Kerala and Karnataka lacked in gas pipeline infrastructure.
Andrew T. Simkin, U.S. Consul General in Chennai, said “our economies are still depending heavily on energy for growth and prosperity. If we secure our energy, then it is going to place a limitation on our growth.
The toughest challenge is to manage the growth and prosperity and the U.S. Consulate is ready to offer its help.”
Pierre Fournier, France Consul General in Puducherry, said that firstly, India and China had to respond to the needs of economic growth and increase in population, tackle the growing scarcity of fossil fuels, and understand and cope with the consequences of climate change by collectively adopting low-carbon emitting fuels and transportation modes.
P. Murari, Advisor to FICCI president, handed over ‘FICCI Tamil Nadu Energy Conservation 2010' award to Mr. Singh and urged him to carry out energy demand-supply study every year as the gestation period of these plants was long.
