The energy department has been granted the go-ahead to speed up efficiency upgrades in all government departments and upgrade all public buildings to star status, including creating a time-bound state energy efficiency action plan
According to an official on Thursday, the Government of Andhra Pradesh would completely support the Government of India's carbon credit trading system, a market-based strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the environment and alleviate negative climate change effects. State Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy applauded the programme and noted that it would open up new opportunities for people, businesses, and other organisations, including bringing about the advantages of carbon offsetting initiatives like ecosystem management, forest preservation, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy production.
"The carbon credits trading would undoubtedly be a great boon to deal with global warming and will be a win-win situation for a sustainable environment with multiple benefits," said Reddy in a statement, following the 11th executive committee meeting of the AP State Energy Conservation Mission (APSECM).
The southern state offers a potential energy savings of about 17,000 MU, or 25% of its entire energy demand, according to a Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) estimate. Given the size of the potential savings, Andhra Pradesh has made the decision to take action to save at least 10% of that amount annually in the first phase at 1,700 MU, or Rs 1,200 crore, by using an integrated strategy that brings all the departments under one roof and includes lowering the electricity costs of government departments.
The Chief Secretary has suggested that in order to meet the 6.68 million tonne of oil equivalent (Mtoe) target set by BEE, this plan should include all of the departments, including municipal administration, panchayat raj, medical and health, endowments, industries, social welfare, school education, and agriculture. The Chief Secretary commended APSECM for putting IoT-based energy efficiency technologies in place in 65 MSMEs, enforcing obligatory energy conservation building codes in 123 urban local bodies, and establishing energy conservation cells in 42 government ministries, among other things.