• Government of India has launched its Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme for residential and institutional consumers in the BSES area.
• This programme is launched by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power.

About Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme:

• 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.
• Super-Efficient AC programme will also help to reduce the peak power demand in South and West Delhi by 22MW, 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 Hydrochlorofluro carbons Phase Out Management Plan, enabling achievement of India’s targets under the Kigali and Paris Agreements.

Steps taken by EESL:

• EESL and BSES have joined hands to implementa12-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.
• 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.