19-Jul-2022: EESL installs 1.25 crore LED street lights in Urban Local Bodies and Gram Panchayats across India

Hon’ble Prime Minister launched National LED Programme on 5th January, 2015 under which Street Light National Programme (SLNP) was formulated to replace conventional street lights with energy efficient LED street lights.

Till date, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has installed over 1.25 crore LED street lights in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Gram Panchayats (GPs) across India.

SLNP is being implemented in States/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) who have signed the implementation agreement with EESL. At present, EESL is implementing Street Light National Programme in 23 States and 6 Union Territories. EESL has given proposals to all States/UTs and as and when the respective State/UT administration approves the same and agreements are signed with the ULBs, replacement of street lights is taken up by EESL.

Presently 1,615 of ULBs have entered into contract with EESL for replacement of conventional street lights with LED street lights under SLNP.

SLNP so far is estimated to have resulted in annual saving of 8.5 billion units equivalent to Rs.6800 crore. 

19-Jul-2022: EESL installs 1.25 crore LED street lights in Urban Local Bodies and Gram Panchayats across India

Hon’ble Prime Minister launched National LED Programme on 5th January, 2015 under which Street Light National Programme (SLNP) was formulated to replace conventional street lights with energy efficient LED street lights.

Till date, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has installed over 1.25 crore LED street lights in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Gram Panchayats (GPs) across India.

SLNP is being implemented in States/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) who have signed the implementation agreement with EESL. At present, EESL is implementing Street Light National Programme in 23 States and 6 Union Territories. EESL has given proposals to all States/UTs and as and when the respective State/UT administration approves the same and agreements are signed with the ULBs, replacement of street lights is taken up by EESL.

Presently 1,615 of ULBs have entered into contract with EESL for replacement of conventional street lights with LED street lights under SLNP.

SLNP so far is estimated to have resulted in annual saving of 8.5 billion units equivalent to Rs.6800 crore. 

5-Jun-2020: EESL and USAID Announce the “Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings” Initiative

On occasion of World Environment Day, today, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under Ministry of Power, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) MAITREE program, launched the “Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings” initiative that will pioneer ways to make workplaces healthier and greener.

The Market Integration and Transformation Program for Energy Efficiency (MAITREE), under which this initiative has been launched, is a part of the US-India bilateral Partnership between the Ministry of Power and USAID and is aimed at accelerating the adoption of cost-effective energy efficiency as a standard practice within buildings, and specifically focuses on cooling.

As part of this pilot, “Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings” Initiative, EESL has taken the leadership by being the first to implement this framework in its own offices. Saurabh Kumar, EESL Managing Director, stated, “This initiative is addressing the challenges of retrofitting existing buildings and air conditioning systems so that they are both healthy and energy efficient. We hope that this pilot will pave the way for other buildings to take appropriate steps to be healthy and energy efficient. As always, our work is for the public and for the benefit of everyone, and our partnership with USAID will help scale it up.”

Poor air quality has been a concern in India for quite some time and has become more important in light of the COVID pandemic. As people return to their offices and public spaces, maintaining good indoor air quality is essential for occupant comfort, well-being, productivity and the overall public health. Most buildings in India are not equipped to establish and maintain healthy indoor air quality and need to be upgraded. Such retrofit measures, like increasing outside air and additional filtration in the air conditioning system, typically come at the cost of occupant comfort and increased energy use. Nor are there standardized approaches to retrofitting.

The EESL office pilot will address this problem by developing specifications for future use in other buildings throughout the country, as well as aid in evaluating the effectiveness and cost benefits of various technologies and their short and long-term impacts on air quality, comfort, and energy use.

Ramona El Hamzaoui, USAID Acting Mission Director to India, said, “USAID is proud of its partnership with EESL. It is inspiring to see that EESL has taken the lead by being the first to implement the idea in its own office in New Delhi. This pioneering effort, built in large part on our partnership, will address air quality and energy use concerns in buildings — directly improving comfort, health, productivity, and ultimately the quality of life of citizens in India and South Asia.”

Mr. Kumar and Ms. El Hamzaoui released a joint video message on Twitter explaining how the pilot will work and showcasing how EESL employees feel safer returning to the workplace. The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfeZjEQKa-c

About EESL: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency and is implementing the world’s largest energy efficiency portfolio in the country. Driven by the mission of Enabling More – more transparency, more transformation, and more innovation, EESL aims to create market access for efficient and future-ready transformative solutions that create a win-win situation for every stakeholder.

About USAID: USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results.

22-Feb-2019: Super-Efficient Air Conditioning programme launched by EESL

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power, Government of India, launched its Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme for residential and institutional consumers in the BSES area. These Super-Efficient Air Conditioners are 40 percent more efficient than, but priced comparably with, the 3-star ACs currently available in the market (ISEER 3.8). EESL is working towards making this programme and its benefits available to all consumers across the nation with the other DISCOMs likely to partner with EESL in future.

Besides promoting energy efficiency, the Super-Efficient AC programme will also help to reduce the peak power demand in South and West Delhi by 22 MW, enabling the two organisations to harness synergies to promote energy security and sustainability. The programme directly addresses the prospect of the nearly four-fold increase in energy consumption from buildings and cooling appliances in India by 2032, while also addressing goals of India’s Cooling Action Plan and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons Phase Out Management Plan, enabling achievement of India’s targets under the Kigali and Paris Agreements.

EESL and BSES have joined hands to implement a 12-month pilot of the programme by exchanging an agreement through which BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) would assist in aggregating demand and providing local marketing and outreach support to promote energy efficient technologies in the areas it currently services, thereby covering over 25 lakh residential and institutional consumers in South and West Delhi.

EESL will conduct all activities related to source, supply, complaint management and redressal, and fulfilment of warranty obligations for the products. Applying its proven business model of demand aggregation, EESL will mobilize the capital of INR 150 crores for the programme while redeeming its investment through upfront payments for the super-efficient ACs from customers.

EESL has initiated the procurement process of super-efficient ACs, thereby capitalising on opportunities for leveraging economies of scale through demand aggregation, and so reducing the cost of this superior green technology to consumers. Based on its past experiences with bulk procurement for other technologies and programmes, EESL expects to discover prices that are 20-30 percent less than the retail costs of similar technologies currently available in the market.

During the event, EESL also launched its e-Commerce website, EESLmart.in, through which customers of BRPL, and of other DISCOMs that partner with EESL in future, can purchase the super-efficient air conditioners. With a focus on increasing consumer adoption of, and access to, energy efficient technologies, the website will also allow customers to purchase other appliances distributed by EESL, including induction cookstoves and products sold under the UJALA programme - 9-Watt LED bulbs, LED luminaries, and BEE 5-star rated energy efficient fans.

The website will also feature a catalogue of products, a payment gateway, product specifications and images, stock status and order completion and shipment information, as well as 24x7 customer service, query address and post-shipping support. Once the website is opened to the public in March 2019, customers can create a profile and register on the website free-of-charge after submitting requisite documents, such as electricity bill number and/or government-issued identification documents, and place orders for doorstep delivery of eligible products.

EESL’s investment in the programme is partially supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an independent financing mechanism that was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to address global environmental issues. The GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector. Further, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing necessary grant support and loan while United Nations Environment (UNEP) is providing technical assistance support to the Super-Efficient AC programme.

11-Nov-2018: Power Minister inaugurates INSPIRE 2018

“Energy efficiency saves the environment and makes businesses more competitive. While India needs to grow but we need to grow responsibly and the Government has taken several measures in this regard.” said Shri R K Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy. The Minister was speaking at the inaugural of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2018) here today. This is the second edition of INSPIRE and is being organised by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and World Bank. The three-day symposium will focus on enhancing grid management, e-Mobility, financial instruments and technologies for energy efficiency in India.

The Minister further said, “Innovations in the field of energy efficiency are critical to meet our GHG (greenhouse gases) emission targets and the Government has taken several initiatives in this regard”. He also gave away awards to four pathbreaking innovations in clean energy and energy efficiency as part of #InnovateToINSPIRE, a first-of-its-kind energy innovation challenge.

The #InnovateToINSPIRE challenge was organized by EESL and World resources Institute (WRI) between 21 August, 2018 and 12 October, 2018 in the run-up to INSPIRE 2018. The challenge invited participants to submit sustainable and scalable solutions to seven specific challenges spanning grid management, e-Mobility, energy efficient technologies and financial instruments. From 94 entries, four winners were selected by an eminent jury comprised of Indian and international experts in the field of energy. The winning entries received an award of Rs. 5 lakhs, each, along with mentoring and guidance from EESL to help them bring their solutions to market.

To support investments in new, innovative and scalable business models, EESL and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement for a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant of USD 13 million to establish an Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund (EERF). EERF aims to expand and sustain investments in the energy efficiency market in India, build market diversification, and scale up existing technologies.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ajay Bhalla, Secretary, Power said that India’s energy efficiency efforts were being lauded world over. He also said that innovation challenge was a very good idea to promote energy efficiency.

Shri Rajeev Sharma, Chairman, EESL said, “Innovation is the most important enabler for resolving environmental problems while reducing costs.”

During INSPIRE 2018, EESL and GAIL, a wholly owned subsidiary of GAIL (India) Limited signed a MoU to develop natural gas based cogeneration and trigeneration projects in Commercial & Industrial Sectors in India. This MoU is set to benefit industries such as Hotels, Hospitals, Airports, Commercial Malls, Commercial/Government Buildings, Integrated Residential Complexes, Educational Institutions, Data Center, among others, with the advantages of Combined Heat & Power technology.

INSPIRE 2018 has been organised in collaboration with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI). The event is bringing together policy-makers, influencers, innovators, thought leaders, researchers, leading energy-efficient companies, government agencies, business leaders and other stakeholders to deliberate on key energy policies, market transformation strategies, and sustainable business models that will help leverage the full potential of energy efficiency and bring its multiple co-benefits to the fore.

The event was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Power, EESL, Dr. Junaid K. Ahmad, Country Director, The World Bank (WB); Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB).

About EESL: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency and is implementing the world’s largest energy efficiency portfolio in the country. Driven by the mission of Enabling More – more transparency, more transformation, and more innovation, EESL aims to create market access for efficient and future-ready transformative solutions that create a win-win situation for every stakeholder. By 2020, EESL seeks to be a US$ 1.5 billion (INR 10,000 crore) company.

EESL has pioneered innovative business approaches to successfully roll-out large-scale programs that allow for incentive alignment across the value chain and rapidly drive transformative impact. EESL aims to leverage this implementation experience and explore new overseas market opportunities for diversification of its portfolio. As on date, EESL has begun its operations in UK, South Asia and South-East Asia.

27-Nov-2017: First edition of International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017) kicked off in Jaipur

The first edition of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017) was kicked off in Jaipur. The five-day symposium is being organized by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) in partnership with The World Bank, and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).

INSPIRE 2017 is an International Conference that brings together various stakeholders such as policy makers, innovators, financiers, influencers to showcase best practices in the sector. It provides a platform for energy efficiency community to discuss energy efficiency policies, market transformation strategies, emerging technologies, delivery and business-model driven transformations. The event is further designed to provide global and national thought-leaders and implementers to expand perspectives on energy efficiency and spur ideas and solutions that will help leverage the full potential of energy efficiency and bring its multiple co-benefits to the fore.

The highlight of the symposium is the high-level deliberations driven by policy makers and experts from Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The World Bank Group, The Energy Institute (TERI), International Energy Agency (IEA), Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), USA and representatives of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) - a high-level global forum to promote policies and programmes that advance clean energy technology.

India is the third largest energy consumer in the world. In India, the World Bank is proud to be partnering with EESL on a major $300 million programme, which is a long term low cost loan. This builds on our ongoing engagements with EESL and other agencies. The next five years will be critical for if we want a world that we would like our children to live in. And bold action on Energy Efficiency will be a key part of that action.

INSPIRE 2017 intends to create a platform for deliberations and sharing of best practices around energy efficiency policy solutions, high-impact research, innovative financing and implementation that are driving large scale market transformations in India and across the globe. The event has brought together over 350 participants from 13 countries across North America, Asia, Europe and Middle East.

During the inaugural session, a mobile app for EESL’s various programmes was launched. This app will allow consumers to connect with the organisation for its various programmes, lodge complaints and track real time complaint status. Further, citizens can now access the real-time status of Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) dashboard at state, district and Urban Local Body (ULB) levels across the country.

Through an innovative market-led approach towards energy efficiency, India has charted its progress towards being a low-carbon economy, through implementation of large scale zero subsidy initiatives like Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA), Street lighting National Programme, Electric vehicles, Smart Meter programme, Solar Rooftop projects etc.

1-Nov-2017: EESL launches $454 million ‘Creating and Sustaining Markets for Energy Efficiency’ project in partnership with the GEF

Recognizing India’s efforts towards a low emission-economy and focusing on energy efficiency programmes, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has now partnered with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power, for the project ‘Creating and Sustaining Markets for Energy Efficiency’.

The project will receive a composite funding of $454 million comprised of the GEF grant of $20 million and co-financing of $434 million in the form of loans and equity, including a $200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). EESL further proposes Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund (EERF) for sustainable funding mechanism of energy efficiency projects in the country.

The EERF mechanism will support the ‘proof of concept’ investments for the new technologies of super-efficient ceiling fans, tri-generation technologies & smart grid-applications and ultimately scaling up energy efficiency financing and programme development to help cover initial investment costs of identified energy efficiency programmes like street lighting, domestic lighting, five-star rated ceiling fans and agricultural pumps, in the country. This unique model will help in addressing the upfront risks of new technologies. Further, the accrued savings from these technologies can then be used to finance additional projects, which would allow capital to revolve as a sustainable funding mechanism.

The GEF project further brings together many technical and financing partners including United Nations Environment (UN Environment), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) which aims to mitigate 60 million tons of CO2 eq (carbon dioxide equivalent), that will enable a total direct energy savings of 38.3 million GJ by 2022 and 137.5 million GJ by 2032. (1 GJ = 277.778 kWh)

Currently around two-thirds of total power generation capacity in India is based on fossil fuels. By 2030, India is committed to achieve 40% of the installed capacity based on clean energy sources. To achieve this target, it is imperative to create awareness in the citizens, especially among youth, to encourage energy efficiency measures like use of electric vehicles, energy efficient building codes etc., he added.

The overall size of energy efficiency market in India is estimated to be $23 billion. Initiatives like these seek to tap that market by implementing an innovative business model that is scalable, flexible, embraces different and emerging technologies and has incentives for all stakeholders.

Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of India Resident Mission of ADB, said that ADB will partner EESL to implement energy efficiency projects in India to facilitate sustainable growth by addressing climate change issues, boosting the economy and generating greater employment in the country.

Mr. Geordie Codville of the UN Environment said that the project is aimed at scaling up energy efficiency efforts to achieve India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) goals and ultimately the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

EESL also has its sights set on district cooling systems which can reduce energy demand for cooling by up to 50 percent. EESL has partnered with UN Environment’s District Energy in Cities Initiative, which has already identified $600 million of projects across five cities in India.

GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector that addresses global environmental issues. The funding announcement was made at the launch of the GEF-6 fund which supports two projects – ‘Creating Markets for Energy Efficiency’ and ‘District Energy in Cities’.

24-Oct-2017: EESL to provide energy efficient Powerlooms equipment to small and medium units at no upfront cost

Ministries of Power  and Textiles have joined hands under a new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries). Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector entity under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, would procure energy efficient Powerlooms, motors and Rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium Powerloom units at no upfront cost.

The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis. To kick start the implementation, cluster wise demonstration projects and workshops will be organized in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, Ichalkaranji, etc.

The use of these efficient equipment would result in energy savings and cost savings to the unit owner and he would repay in installments to EESL over a 4 to 5 year period.  This is the aggregation, bulk procurement and financing model that EESL has successfully deployed in several sectors like LED bulbs, Smart Meters and Electric Vehicles.  The unit owner neither has to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure these equipment nor does it have to allocate additional expenditure for repayment as the repayments to EESL are made from the savings that accrue as a result of higher efficiency equipments and cost savings.  The aggregation of demand and bulk procurement will also lead to reduction in capital cost, benefits of which will be passed on to the Powerloom units so that their repayment amount and period would reduce.

The Powerloom sector in India is predominantly an unorganized sector and has a large number of micro and small units which produce 57 percent of the total cloth in the country.  There are 24.86 lakhs Powerloom units in this country, most of whom use obsolete technology.  With a view to upgrading the technology, the Government of India has been implementing the INSITU upgradation of  plain Powerlooms as part of Power Tex India under which plain Powerlooms are attached with process control equipment leading to higher productivity, better quality and more than 50 percent additional value realisation.  So far 1.70 lakhs plain Powerlooms have been upgraded under the scheme, with a total Government of India subsidy of Rs. 186 crores.

16-Aug-2017: EESL and IOCL, BPCL & HPCL sign MOUs for distribution of Energy Efficient appliances

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the Ministry of Power, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) for distribution of energy efficient appliances under the flagship Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and appliances for All (UJALA) scheme. According to the agreement, Oil Marketing Companies- IOCL, BPCL and HPCL will take up distribution of LED Bulbs, LED Tube lights and energy efficient Fans from select retail outlets across the country. The distribution of these energy efficient appliances will be conducted in a phased manner across these select outlets. In the first phase, distribution will commence from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

As part of the MoUs with the OMCs, EESL will make the entire upfront investment for ensuring availability of the products at the outlets and no upfront capital cost will be borne by the OMCs barring manpower and space. The consumer can purchase high quality 9W LED Bulbs for Rs 70, 20W LED Tube light for Rs 220 and Five-Star Rated Ceiling Fan for Rs 1,200/-.

It is the vision of the Government of India to reduce our dependence on import of energy by upto 10%. The petrol pumps owned by the three oil marketing companies can boast of a very high footfall. It is a great opportunity for the two departments to come together and utilise this network for ensuring LED bulbs and tube lights reach every corner of our country. The ecosystem of non-fuel retail business around the retail outlets will not only help drive the non-fuel business but will also lead to customer convenience in their own vicinity.

The three Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies, Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum together have a vast network of over 54,500 petroleum Retail Outlets spanning the length and breadth of the country. These Outlets not only meet the growing fuelling needs of our rapidly developing nation but also offer a bouquet of allied services like ATMs, Service Stations, Convenience Stores and PUC facilities to enhance value and convenience to customers across the urban, highway and rural markets. The unmatched network of these mega petroleum companies will significantly boost the distribution and marketing reach of EESL and extend the availability of energy efficient products to all corners of India.

Currently, over 25.5 crore LED Bulbs, over 30.6 lakh LED Tube lights and around 11.5 lakh energy efficient fans have been distributed in the country under the UJALA scheme. This is leading to an annual energy savings of over 3,340 crore kWh and resulting in avoidance of over 6,725 MW of peak demand. Through the scheme the estimated cumulative cost reduction in bills of consumers annually, is over INR 13,346 crore and is leading to reduction of approximately 2.7 crore tonnes of CO2 every year.