Tamil Nadu to implement energy audit in Government buildings
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Indian Express
Chennai

Under the IGEA, the audit firms should review the present energy consumption scenario, monitor and analyse energy use patterns and explore suitable EEMs.
For promoting energy conservation, energy audits would soon begin in major government buildings in the tamil Nadu State including the Raj Bhavan and the Madras High Court. The State Electrical Inspectorate (SEI), which is the nodal agency for energy conservation, is in the last leg of finalising bids from Energy Service Companies (ESCO) for conduct of Investment Grade Energy Audit (IGEA) in 17 large public buildings. “In two weeks, the tenders are likely to be finalised and selected audit companies would be asked to start work immediately,’ a top SEI official told Express.

IGEA’s core objective is to stop wastage of energy in any form. ESCOs would work under a performance contract that requires the firms to do the audit, come out with Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) and successfully demonstrate savings by operating the energy facilities in select buildings for a pre-determined period of time, which is usually 3-5 years. The companies would make investment for upgradation and would take payments based on the energy savings they generate.

Under the IGEA, the audit firms should review the present energy consumption scenario, monitor and analyse energy use patterns and explore suitable EEMs. The energy service companies that do the audit should come out with recommendations for guaranteed savings by identifying building-specific EEMs.

The audit would analyse the design and actual operational parameters of electrical distribution systems and study all relevant aspects including the power factor. The study shall also include power quality issues like harmonics, current unbalance and voltage unbalance.

Based on the study, the audit should report on quantifying cost benefits and commensurate investments required under the ‘current service levels’ and achieve the ‘benchmark service levels’ with baseline energy use specifications. Standard Monitoring and Verification (M&V) practices would be followed during the study as well as the implementation phase.