Jaipur, October 24, 2011
‘Look for energy star products while you shop during the diwali festival and reduce the consumption of the energy, as non-renewable sources of energy are fast depleting’ was the key message emerged out of a consultation with various stakeholders organized by Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) in Jaipur. The consultation was part of a campaign ‘save to survive’ in partnership with Consumers International and Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) for saving energy through energy efficient products and was organised with the purpose of exploring possibilities for collectively formulating strategies for energy efficient future.
R.C.Sharma, Joint secretary, Rajasthan Electricity Regulation Commission (RERC) announced about the availability of funds with RERC for similar campaigns and activities as consumer awareness is understood as a very effective measure for saving energy. Mr. Sumit Mathur, Project Manager, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RREC) informed the audience about a new provision of reduced tariff for the consumers who use solar energy for heating purposes and also informed about the subsidy available for urban consumers for installing solar appliances. One unit of saving electricity is equivalent to two unit of generating electricity as half of the energy goes waste in transmission, said S. K. Rajput, executive engineer, Jaipur Viddyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL).
George Cheriyan, Director, CUTS international in his introductory remarks said energy is major pillar of the development and economic growth of India and this pillar does not have sustainable sources. It is highly dependent on fossil fuels which are very limited. The power consumption in India will be doubled by 2020 and only way to meet the consumption is the demand side management.
This awareness campaign was launched in the month of September with the aim of increasing awareness on the energy saving methods, which will facilitate increase in demand for energy efficient products. Under the campaign, various awareness activities including street plays, in house awareness camps etc. have been accomplished at different locations of Jaipur city, jointly with local civil society organizations during last couple of months.
This stakeholders’ consultation was attended by around 70 participants from various civil society organizations, media persons, consumers and several officials from the government department
For more details, please contact
Amar Deep Singh, Sr. Project Officer, CUTS International, 093146 17532 , ads@cuts.org