The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for all commercial and non-residential buildings in Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) became mandatory from Friday with its integration with the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department’s online Development Permission Management System (DPMS), according to Energy Secretary N. Srikant.
Speaking at the valedictory function of Energy Conservation Week-2019 here on Friday, Mr. Srikant said hereafter commercial and other non-residential buildings with plot areas exceeding 1,000 square metres or built-up areas of 2,000 square metres and multiplexes, hospitals, hotels and convention centres irrespective of their built-up area have to comply with the ECBC in order to obtain building approvals from the urban local bodies.
Energy savings
He said the adoption of ECBC in commercial buildings was expected to yield 30% direct energy savings according to a report prepared by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad. It (the code) helps in reducing electricity bills for building owners / stakeholders apart from generating environmental benefits.
According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, implementation of the ECBC in commercial buildings in India would translate to energy savings of around 300 billion units by 2030 and peak demand reduction of over 15 GW in a year. This was equivalent to monetary savings of ₹35,000 crore and a CO2 reduction of 250 million tonnes.
State Energy Conservation Mission (SECM) CEO A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy said 34 third party assessors were empanelled to check compliance with the ECBC at design and occupancy stages in all upcoming commercial buildings across the State. Also, more than 130 members qualified as ECBC experts in 2018-19.
Capital Region Development Authority Commissioner P. Lakshminarasimham observed that growing population and rapid urbanisation would increase the demand for energy, which would lead to adverse effects on environment. ECBC was, therefore, necessary to mitigate the damage and the CRDA would extend full cooperation for foolproof implementation of the code.
