It is said that one becomes wiser after the act. We cannot assume that all the wisdom rests in one person or one organization howsoever reputed and well intended. This axiom applies to Government’s handling of the endemic issue of power development and distribution in the State. Power issue has been a source of embarrassment to all successive Governments. Each Government tried to tackle the issue in its own wisdom but still things remained amiss. PDD has come under severe criticism and even censure. After all it is a department that has direct public dealing and the public is unsparing when put to inconvenience. On the count of power there is a big gap between supply and demand. Pilferage and transmission losses have been the impediments in the way and a foolproof mechanism of overcoming them has not been found so far.
However, a recent development raises the hope that may be at the end of the tunnel a flicker of light might appear. Exasperated by the endemic public resentment to power crisis, and inability of the PDD to respond to the situation, the State Government took the cue from the Union Government and enacted the Jammu & Kashmir Energy Conservation Act on 23 April 2011. The main purpose of the Act was to bring about efficient use of energy and its conservation. It carried many wishes and hopes, of course with good intentions. But although more than two years are gone yet the Act has not brought any cognizable change in the prevailing power scenario. The situation has worsened in some cases.
For the implementation of the Act and discharge of all the functions, the establishment of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency was imperative. After fondling with the idea for nearly two years, the PDD has come up with a report that the constitution of BEE is a very complex and time-consuming process and beyond the scope of the PDD. A question may be asked why PDD took two long years to come to the conclusion that establishing BEE was a lengthy and complex process and that it was not capable of delivering the goods. It could have done so just by going through the story of the Union Power Ministry that had already established the BEE as an adjunct of the Energy Conservation Act of the Union Government.
It finally dawned upon the Government that the only option left was that of extending the jurisdiction of the BEE of Government of India by carrying out certains amendments in the Act. As the Assembly is not in session, the Government has to take recourse to the issuance of an ordinance by the Governor of the State.
As per the Act, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to specify norms for process and energy consumption standards, prescribe guidelines for energy conservation building codes, develop testing and certificating procedures and infrastructure, specify qualification for accredited energy indicators and lay specification procedure for energy manufacturers etc. Moreover, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is also having the powers to carry out verification, monitoring and analysis of use of energy including submission of technical report containing recommendations for improving energy efficiency with cost benefit analysis and prepare an action plan to reduce energy consumption.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel