Kerala, Rajasthan top India’s first state index for energy efficiency

• The Ministry of Power’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and Niti Aayog have released the first energy efficiency index for Indian states.
  
• Kerala and Rajasthan achieved “front-runner” category on the index, along with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.
  
• The ultimate goal of the index is to track the amount of energy each state is saving as part of the central government’s larger climate change targets.
  

On 1 August, India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a sub-agency of the Ministry of Power, released the country’s first energy efficiency index for Indian states. The ‘State Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index’ was prepared by the body in conjunction with Niti Aayog, India’s policy incubator.

The index assesses states on their progress in implementing clean energy projects and achieving energy efficiency targets. It includes 63 indicators along six lines - construction, industry, transport, agriculture, electricity generation and distribution and municipality.

Kerala and Rajasthan achieved “front-runner” category on the index, along with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. The index breaks down each state’s level of achievement in a specific sector. Kerala, for example, had a high rating in construction because of the effective implementation of energy conservation building codes, the number of certified green buildings and mandatory energy reporting and saving policies.

Just like the top bracket, the other three other categories have slightly ambiguous titles. They are, in descending order, ‘Achiever’ (Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Haryana), Contender, (Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Odisha) and Aspirant (J&K, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chattisgarh and all the Northeastern states).

The data compiled for the index mostly relates to state policies, the functioning of institutions, the amount of energy consumed and the potential to save energy. It was sourced from central government departments such as Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) as well as each of the states’ power ministries and agencies nominated by the BEE.

The ultimate goal of the index is to track the amount of energy savings of each state, and encourage them to compete against each other in terms of energy efficiency and programme implementation.

As part of an agreement signed in Paris in late 2015, India has pledged to reduce its carbon consumption by a third from its 2005 levels by 2030. The current BJP administration also plans to install 175 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2022, a target it looks set to achieve.