India to be Electricity-Based Economy Eventually: RK Singh

Power Minister RK Singh has said that India is on route to becoming an electricity-based economy, as it embarks on power usage for cooking and running vehicles

Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh has said that India is on route to becoming an electricity-based economy, as it embarks on power usage for all its needs from cooking to running vehicles.

Speaking at the function organised to mark 10 years of state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) in Delhi, the minister said “the entire power sector is going through change and this change will continue. We want to electrify our whole economy. The energy would be through electricity rather than through petroleum products or other forms of energy,” 

Further adding that “besides mobility, the next target would be cooking by electricity. So, we will electrify the economy and make electricity green (generation through renewable). Those are our long-term goals.”

Lauding the business models provided by EESL to promote energy efficiency on the occasion, Singh said, “Business model, that is what works. You can have subsidy models. I have found through experience that the subsidy model does not work as well as a business model. That is what EESL brought in energy efficiency. The business model made it possible to replace agriculture (water) pumps with energy-efficient pumps.”

The minister also announced the commissioning of 100 MW cumulative capacity decentralised solar power plants connected to agriculture feeders. The capacity of these solar power plants, in each substation, ranges from 0.5 MW to 10 MW. The decentralised solar plants cater to the requirements of farmers connected to the respective agriculture feeder daily, by means of reliable day time electricity.

As reported by us recently, EESL was established in 2009 to unlock the potential of energy efficiency. It’s implemented initiatives have cumulatively led to energy savings of more than 58 billion kWh and a reduction of more than 46 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the globe. During its 10 years, the company had enjoyed exponential growth, with offices spread across India, UK, Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia. And it has seen its revenue grow at a CAGR of 114.96 percent from Rs 26 crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs 2,565 crore in FY 2018-19.