Conferring the State level Award for Excellence in Energy Conservation to ten industrialists, representatives of the establishments and organizations in a ceremony held in PEDA Auditorium, Chandigarh, G.S. Kangar, Power & NRES Minister, Punjab said that the State sincerely recognizes industries and establishments that have taken special efforts to promote energy efficiency and the adoption of clean and innovative technologies in industrial and other sectors.The Minister emphasized on the need of energy conservation and energy efficiency in the state to meet the gap between the demand and supply of power. He stressed upon the need to adopt renewable energy sources and use power judiciously by adopting energy conservation and energy efficiency measures. He said that the demand of power is increasing day by day with the expansion of industry and need of infrastructure. The power is mainly being generated from fossil fuels such as coal, gas, petroleum which are depleting day by day and polluting the environment by releasing carbon dioxide emission. So , it is pertinent to shift from the conventional power generation to renewable energy sources such as Solar, Hydel, Biomass and co-generation power production which is clean and green energy, said he.The minister informed that with the concerted efforts of PEDA, 1600 MW capacity renewable energy projects have been installed in the state of Punjab which is about 14% of the total installed capacity. At the same time, efforts are afoot to use energy judiciously by adopting energy conservation measures in different sectors of the economy such as industrial, agriculture, commercial, municipal and domestic.
On the occasion, Mrs. Vineeta Kanwal, Joint Director, Bureau of Energy Efficiency spoke about the energy efficiency programs initiated in the Centre and appreciated the efforts made by PEDA as State Designated Agency (SDA) for implementation of the Energy Conservation Act-2001. Mr. Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, Chief Executive Officer, PEDA highlighted the initiatives taken under energy conservation programs in the state. The awareness of energy conservation is being created through workshops / seminars, print / electronic media and mainly through school children by organizing painting/ debate competitions on the theme of energy conservation / energy efficiency.The function was attended by different category of consumers from Energy Intensive Industries (Designated Consumers), Commercial Buildings, Govt. Buildings, Architects and Municipal Corporations.Mr. Balour Singh, Executive Director, PEDA thanked all the participants and impressed upon adopting energy conservation measures at works and residences.The units who took extra efforts for efficient utilization management and conservation of energy during the last two years in the state and were bestowed with the prestigious State level Award for Excellence in Energy Conservation include Nabha Power Limited, Patiala and Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabbat, Bathinda at first and second place respectively in Thermal Power Plant Category . Rishab Spinning Mills, Ludhiana and Vardhman Spinning & General Mills, Ludhiana bagged first and second place respectively in Textile category. Amongst the Large and medium scale Manufacturing Enterprises Nectar Lifesciences Ltd. Unit II, Derabassi, Mohali stood first while Diesel Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala stood second.In the Commercial Buildings( government/private) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Main TE Bldg. MTS Nagar, Jalandhar was first and Anandpur Sahib Foundation, Virasat-e-Khalsa, Anadpur Sahib stood second. Similarly, in the Educational Institutions (Government & Private Buildings) category Indian School of Business, Mohali bagged the first position followed by Gian Jyoti Group of Institutions, Patiala at second position.All the award winners were given a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 for the First Position and Rs. 30,000 for Second Position and a Memento and a Certificate.