Montek moots energy efficiency norms for household appliances

The Planning Commission today pitched for energy-efficiency norms for household electrical appliances like television and refrigerators in an effort to reduce emission of greenhouse gases.

"I will say that electrical appliances, refrigerator, television... Can have energy-efficiency norms. We won't be the only country to do this, this is happening around the world," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Monetk Singh Ahluwalia told reporters on the sidelines of a CII conference on clean technologies here today.

He further said the government has to encourage development of green energy sources by mandating power distribution companies to buy part of their requirement from producers of non-conventional energy.

The government, Ahluwalia said, has been trying to encourage development of non-conventional energy and raise energy efficiency as part of the recently unveiled integrated energy policy.

"In the integrated energy policy, we have drawn attention to this and also in the national action plan for climate change. One of the obvious things we can do  is to move to much better fuel efficiency standards ...And the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is doing a lot of work on this," he added.

The Plan panel head said transport and construction sectors have huge possibility of implementing fuel efficiency norms and the Commission is preparing a paper on related energy issues.

"We are preparing a paper, depending on timing, whether they decide to have a National Development Council (NDC) meeting or not, but we are preparing a paper on energy issues which could go before the NDC. It is an important set of inter-related subjects," he said.

Earlier, addressing the summit, he said the government could come out with measures like reducing dependence on imported energy and could shift to indigenous energy like renewable or solar energy.