Soudha's Rs 6-cr bill a shocker

Pooja Virendra Kumar / TNN / May 16, 2006, 23:31 IST

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Rs 12 crore: that is the power bill run up by the three buildings of the Vidhana Soudha.

BANGALORE: Rs 12 crore: that is the power bill run up by the three buildings that house the main government offices. Vidhana Soudha consumes about 1.2 crore units of power annually at a cost of Rs 6 crore.
M S Building and Vikas Soudha too consume around 6.5 lakh units annually, together spending around Rs 6 crore again.
The ongoing power audit of government offices by Karnataka Renewable Energy Development (KRED) has found a steep 30 per cent increase in power consumption.
In 2001, Vidhana Soudha consumed 9.26 lakh units of power, at a cost of Rs 53.45 lakh. MS Building consumed 9.25 lakh units at Rs 65 lakh. But in 2004-05, the power consumption as well as the power bills went up by 10 to 30 per cent.

According to the power audit, during 2001 VV Towers consumed 2.53 lakh units and the power bill was Rs 15 lakh. Last year, the KPSC building consumed 3 lakh units, with a whopping power bill of Rs 18 lakh.
The increasing power consumption in government offices across the nation has alarmed even the central government, which has asked all state government offices to undergo a power audit. "The power audit in our state is expected to get over in another three months.

In Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister's Office, the international airport in Delhi, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and other central government buildings, the audits are already through and the offices have taken up energy conservation measures," KRED managing director B Shivalingaiah said.
So how does one cut down electricity consumption? "Changing to green energy is the best way to save power.
The TERI office is a classic example of how architecture has helped them to cut power consumption by almost 60 per cent," said Shivalingaiah.
Besides, use of lights only in the work area, like the desk or a corner of the room, instead of wasting electricity to light up the whole room is another way to conserve power.
Even the KRED office operates on solar energy except for its lift and ACs.

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