Energy Conservation Bill a game changer: MP

Hyderabad: Jayadev Galla, Lok Sabha MP and Co-founder and Chairman of Amara Raja Batteries, termed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2022 a victory for environmental sustainability. As an Energy industry veteran and a strong proponent of renewable sources of energy, he highlighted that the bill will help reduce fossil fuel-based energy consumption and carbon emissions.

He said that more government support is required to make renewables viable for mobility and manufacturing industries. The bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 8, gives legislative backing to the five elements of Prime Minister's Panchamrit - sourcing 50 per cent electricity from non-fossil fuels, reduce carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes, installation of 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity, achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2070 and reduce emissions.

"While the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is a move in the right direction, yet it is important to align the policy with long-term vision to build investor confidence. The government must also consider providing incentives for EV vehicle users – at least once for replacement of batteries in private vehicles and twice in commercial vehicles, considering the cost of batteries in an EV can be up to 40 per cent of the vehicle cost," the MP said.

In our progress towards net zero mission a hybrid model that has a balance energy mix of nuclear, hydrogen and bio-mass apart from solar and wind is needed. Finally, I put forward my suggestion of reverting the GST on renewable energy equipment to 5 per cent from the current 12 per cent," Jayadev added.