India's Energy Efficiency and Power Demand
India has witnessed significant growth in electricity generation over the past two decades, bolstered by rapid additions of renewable energy in recent years. However, the country has struggled to meet its peak power demand, with the deficit expanding from 0.69% in FY20 to about 5% in FY24. The challenges lie in the constraints of power supply, particularly the time-consuming process of new power production, especially fossil-fuel based, as India integrates renewable power into the grid.
Significance of Energy Efficiency
To address rising power demand and climate change, India must prioritize enhancing energy efficiency as a holistic approach. This strategy is not only the quickest but also the least expensive method to mitigate these challenges.
UJALA Scheme
- Celebrating a decade of success, the UJALA scheme significantly reduced the price of energy efficient LED bulbs from ₹500 a decade ago to ₹70, facilitating widespread domestic use.
- The scheme incorporated the Street Lighting National Programme, leading to the installation of over 1.34 crore LED lamps across urban local bodies and gram panchayats, reducing peak demand by over 1,500 MW.
- As of January 2025, the government has distributed around 37 crore LED bulbs and supported the sale of approximately 407 crore more.
- LED bulbs consume half the power of compact fluorescent lamps, while incandescent bulbs require nine times the power that LEDs consume, resulting in substantial cost savings.
Impact and Savings
- The UJALA scheme alone has helped India save over $10 billion and avoided building over 9,500 MW of new generation capacity, equivalent to 19 new coal-fired 500 MW power plants.
Other Energy Efficiency Measures
Post the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, India has implemented additional energy efficiency measures. The International Energy Agency reported that between 2000 and 2018, these improvements helped India avoid an additional 15% of energy demand and 300Mt of CO₂ emissions.
Current and Future Challenges
- India's rapid urbanization and increasing per capita energy consumption for cooling needs have pushed peak power demand to 250 GW last year.
- India is the third-largest power consumer globally, with 70% of its energy output derived from coal, and plans to add another 90 GW of coal-based capacity by 2032.
Recommendations
There is a need for greater energy efficiency mandates across various sectors such as buildings, home appliances, and the country's sprawling MSMEs to address current and future energy challenges effectively.