BEE pushes Kerala for Mission LiFE

Hyderabad: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power has urged the Kerala Government to vigorously implement Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) to achieve environmental sustainability. BEE highlighted the significance of Mission LiFE, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a transformative approach to environmental stewardship. The mission advocates for mindful consumption and a circular economy, aiming to move away from the prevalent ‘use-and- throw’ culture, it added.

BEE’s Adviser for Southern States and UTs A Chandrashekhar Reddy met KR Jyothilal, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Department of Power, Kerala in Thiruvanathapuram. Dr R Hari Kumar, Director and Johnson Daniel, HoD (DSM), Energy Management Centre (EMC), State Designated Agency (SDA) of Kerala, also took part in the meeting during which several key initiatives by Kerala government were highlighted.

The officials told BEE that Kerala has set ambitious targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and 100 per cent renewable energy by 2040. Jyothilal emphasised the State’s rapid growth in electric vehicle adoption and efforts to promote Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. The State is exploring measures to incorporate built-in sensors in electric vehicles to ensure charging occurs during off-peak hours, as well as setting air conditioner temperatures to 24 to 26˚C to prevent energy wastage.

Kerala’s natural forest coverage, which stands at 30 per cent, plays a crucial role in carbon sequestration, absorbing 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually. The government plans to expand forest coverage by an additional 10,000 hectares through social forestry initiatives, BEE was informed. Reddy said BEE’s Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme has seen nine energy-intensive industrial units in Kerala mandated to reduce specific energy consumption. The first cycle of the PAT scheme achieved savings equivalent to 0.01 million tonnes of oil, valued at Rs 10.97 crore. An additional nine industrial units have been assigned mandatory energy reduction targets in the second cycle of the scheme.

Under the UJALA programme, 1.51-crore household LED bulbs have been distributed across Kerala, and approximately 10,000 LED streetlights have been installed under the State’s street light programme. The EMC in Kerala has been notified as a “Stand-Alone State Designated Agency” to give greater autonomy in implementing energy efficiency activities. During the XII Plan, EMC received financial assistance of Rs 403.61 lakhs under the ‘SDA Strengthening’ scheme, he added.