Power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday that proposes key amendments in the existing Energy Conservation Act, 2001 to empower the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to specify qualifications, criteria and conditions for the accreditation of energy auditors.
Besides a proposal for empowering the BEE to appoint its officers and staff to accredit energy auditors, the Bill also seeks to empower the Centre to prescribe, by rules, the procedure for issue of energy saving certificate to designated consumers and the value of metric ton of oil equivalent of energy consumed.
The BEE, which functions under the administrative control of the power, was created in 2001 to develop policies and strategies aimed at reducing energy intensity of the Indian economy. BEE is mandated to frame energy efficiency norms for electrical equipment and appliances, develop energy consumption standards for commercial buildings, and certify energy managers and energy auditors.
Struggling to add power generation capacity at a required pace, the government has decided to adopt conservation in a big way as part of its strategy to overcome growing electricity shortage in the country. Besides, it also helps in reducing the country?s carbon footprint.