Energy Efficiency Services Limited

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is the organisation responsible for implementation of Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) or the UJALA scheme, as it is now being referred to.

Background:
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a Joint Venture of four Public Sector Units, namely NTPC Limited, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Limited and started business in 2010 to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency and climate change projects under National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE).
As South Asia's first and foremost energy efficiency leader, EESL leads the market-related activities of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE), one of the eight national missions under the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change.
EESL is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency and is implementing the world’s largest energy efficiency portfolio. Driven by the mission of Enabling More, EESL aims to create market access for efficient and future ready transformative solutions that create a win-win situation for every stakeholder. It has pioneered innovative business approaches to successfully roll-out large-scale programs that allow for incentive alignment across the value chain and rapidly drive transformative impact.
EESL also has strong tie up with Multilateral Banks such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, AfD & KfW for financing and scaling up of energy efficiency projects in India.
In the year 2020, EESL has achieved a significant milestone of completing 10 years of service to the Nation. In this journey of 10 years, EESL has been able to make significant contributions in the fields of LED lighting, wherein almost 9 crore households have been provided with 36 crore LED lights, while over 1 crore smart street lights have been installed in more than 1500 Urban Local Bodies, along with 10,000 government buildings being upgraded to become more energy efficient. The EESL programmes have been able to reduce the annual energy consumption by 57 billion units and helping the country avoid peak demand of 11,200 MW. These programmes have reduced our CO2 emission by 45.5 million tonnes annually, which showcases are commitment towards our NDC goals.
EESL programmes have helped the country in generating direct and indirect employment for ~50,000 people and has been a strong promotor of GoI's Make in India initiative.
EESL programmes are empowering change in people’s lives. Switching from inefficient incandescent bulbs to LEDs is helping families reduce their electricity bills and enabling them to spend more time studying, reading and even working at night – a driver for increased productivity in family businesses. The money saved adds to household’s disposable income improving their quality of life, generating prosperity in local communities and in expanding energy access to all.
Enhanced public lighting increases safety and security of citizen, particularly, women & children and also reduces accident rates in some places. In several places, local retail business has indicated that better public lighting increases their business as more people come to their shops.
EESL aims to leverage its implementation experience and explore new opportunities in overseas market for diversification of its portfolio. In U.K, EESL, has acquired Edina, a leading supplier, installer and maintenance provider for combined heat and power (CHP) solutions. The £55 million (INR 493 crore) acquisition is the first-of-its-kind venture by an entity under the Ministry of Power, Government of India and is effected through its UK subsidiary, EESL EnergyPro Assets Limited (EPAL).
EESL has been recognised globally for its innovative business model and best practices for Energy Efficiency projects. World Bank and International Energy Agency (IEA) acknowledged EESL’s innovative business model and initiatives towards energy efficiency.
EESL has won various prestigious awards such as “Best Company (Public Sector) Award” by the Forbes India Leadership Awards (FILA) 2018, South Asia Procurement Innovation Award (SAPIA) 2017 by World Bank, CIO 100 award- 2019 and Global Solid State Lighting (SSL) award.
The following programmes target energy efficiency in stated segments as it offers enormous opportunity to save energy-
1. Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for ALL (UJALA):
Hon’ble Prime Minister, on 5th January 2015 launched Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for All (UJALA) programme. Under UJALA scheme, LED bulbs, LED Tube lights and Energy efficient fans are being provide to domestic consumers for replacement of conventional and inefficient variant
Till date, over 36.86 crore LED bulbs, 72.18 lakh LED Tube lights and 23.59 lakh Energy efficient fans distributed by EESL across India. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 48.42 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 9,789 MW, GHG emission reduction of 39.30 million t CO2 per year and estimated annual monetary savings of INR 19,333 crore in consumer electricity bills. Under Energy Efficient Fan program over 57,000 BLDC fans have been sold.
• UJALA scheme was also included in the seven schemes that were selected for the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (GSA) and Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (GSA) of GoI. EESL distributed over 68 lakh LED bulbs covering over 65,000 villages across India under GSA and EGSA. The distribution of LED bulbs and awareness creation among low income households under this campaign was done through distribution counters and mobile vans in the villages.
• The procurement price reduced by almost 90% between 2014 and 2017; from Rs. 310 to Rs. 38
• Technical specification of LED bulbs being distributed has been enhanced from 7 W to 9 W and 85 lumen/ W to 100 lumen/ W respectively
• The programme has been able to engage with common man in a significant scale and so far, more than 9 crore consumers have taken the benefit of using these LED bulbs thus making it the largest non-subsidy based LED lighting programme in the world
• EESL has embraced norms of transparency in all its operations. The procurement of LEDs is done through an open e-bidding process and the information about the programme is disseminated through a website www.ujala.gov.in which monitors the real time progress of the UJALA scheme. The site also provides information about the places where these bulbs are made available, quality control measures and results of independent verification of savings done from time to time

Business Model: UJALA
EESL has evolved a service model where it works with electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) through a benefit sharing approach. The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for All (UJALA) obviates the need for DISCOMs to invest in the upfront cost of LED bulbs; EESL procures the LEDs bulbs and provides to consumers at affordable rates against their market price. The upfront investment made by EESL is paid back in different ways as indicated under:
a) Upfront Model- Under this model, consumers purchase the energy efficient appliances at upfront cost and gets benefitted by savings in their electricity bill.
b) DISCOM Cost Recovery Model: Under this model consumer pays only a small part of the cost of bulbs to EESL and balance amount is paid by the DISCOMs to EESL. The investments of EESL is recovered from the DISCOMs as annuity over a period of 3-10 years by monetizing the energy savings that accrue as a result of replacement of incandescent lamps with LEDs. Each replacement leads to a reduction of connected load by 53W. The energy savings are monetized based on the peak procurement cost of DISCOM and is used to pay back the investment made by EESL under an approval by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. This was implemented in Puducherry and A.P.
c) On Bill Financing (OBF) Model: Under this Model entire cost is recovered from the consumers by deduction of easy instalments of every month for 8-12 months. The entire cost of the LED bulbs, including the awareness, distribution and cost of capital is recovered from the consumers Electricity bills. This was implemented all over the country.

2. Gram UJALA:
EESL through its wholly owned subsidiary Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) now expanding this program with a focus on rural areas. Many of these places are difficult to reach and affordability is low - the prevailing practice is therefore that of Incandescent Lamps (ICLs). Income levels are between Rs. 10-20,000 per month, likely worse after COVID 19. Bulbs therefore need to be subsidized further – down to sale at INR 10 for 7W and 12 W LEDs.
How Gram UJALA Work
Gram UJALA is being implemented in villages only. Consumers may purchase a maximum of 5 LED bulbs against submission of equal number of ICLs that must be in working condition. Consumers will be given 7W and 12W LED bulbs, at a price of Rs 10 each. CESL will provide a warranty of 3 years against failure.
It may be noted that Carbon financing is being used for funding of this program.
With price being one of the principle barriers, the Gram Ujala programme has been designed to support widespread distribution by removing the chief barrier for rural consumers. In addition, the energy savings garnered will reduce household’s energy outlay, enabling higher disposable income and savings.
Progress:
The scheme was launched by MoSP (IC) on 19.03.2021 In Bihar. Gram UJALA program is currently running successfully in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and 1 Crore LED bulbs have already been distributed. The program has resulted in energy saving of 1,413 MU of electricity per year, peak demand reduction of 388 MW and 13,00,741 tonnes of CO2 emission reduction per year. It may be noted that Carbon financing is being used for funding of this program.

3. Street Light National Programme (SLNP):
Hon’ble Prime Minister, on 5th January, 2015 launched Street Light National Programme (SLNP) to replace conventional street lights with smart and energy efficient LED street lights across India.

Till date, EESL has installed over 1.27 crore LED street lights in ULBs and Gram Panchayats across India. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 8.54 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 1,422 MW, GHG emission reduction of 5.87 million t CO2 per year and estimated annual monetary savings of INR 5,974 crore in electricity bills of municipalities.

• EESL is also implementing LED Street lighting projects in Gram Panchayats on the same service model as the SLNP for municipalities with the objective to promote the use of efficient lighting in rural areas. So far, EESL has installed over 28 lakh LED street lights in rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Telangana.
• The LED street lights are installed after a detailed survey of the existing infrastructure is undertaken. The survey inter-alia looks at the infrastructure gaps, verification of inventory and mapping locations for setting up CCMS (Centralized Control and Monitoring System)

Business Model: SLNP
EESL replaces the conventional street lights with LEDs at its own costs (without any need for municipalities to invest) and the consequent reduction in energy and maintenance cost of the municipality is used to repay EESL over a period. The contracts that EESL enters with municipalities are typically of 7 years’ duration where it not only guarantees a minimum energy saving (of-typically 50%) but also provides free replacements and maintenance of lights at no additional cost to the municipality. The service model enables the municipalities to go in for state of the art street lights with no upfront capital cost and repayments to EESL are within the present level of expenditure. Thus, there is no additional revenue expenditure required to be incurred by the municipality for change over to smart and energy efficient LED street lights.
Benefits of the scheme:
• Inefficient lights shall be replaced with energy efficient LED Lights which have better life and better output parameters.
• The replaced LED Lights shall be linked with CCMS (Central Control and Monitoring System) which will offer seamless monitoring and control mechanism through real time dashboard leading to increase of better outputs and for the clients too.
• Making roads safer for pedestrians and motorists due to enhanced brightness and reduced dark spots.

4. Smart Meter Programme:
EESL with its JV IntelliSmart is currently doing Implementation of Smart Metering Program to significantly improve the billing and collection efficiencies of Distribution Companies (DISCOMs). Smart Meters will be the foundation for smart grid programme which will be crucial to meet challenges of the newly evolving energy mix and the target of providing uninterrupted 24x7 power supply to every Indian.
Smart meters are connected through a web-based monitoring system which will help to reduce commercial losses of utilities, enhance revenues and serve as an important tool in power sector reforms. EESL business model to roll out smart meters is revamping the current manual system of revenue collection which leads to low billing and poor collection efficiencies.
EESL has signed MoUs/Agreement for smart meters with the states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, NDMC-Delhi, and Telangana.
By EESL’s smart metering project, NDMC becomes the first utility to have all their consumers with smart meters without any upfront investment from NDMC
As on date, EESL has installed over 30.72 lakh smart meters in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan and Andaman under this programme. Apart from this M/S Intellismart has installed 71,489 nos. of Smart Meters in the State of Assam.

Business Model:
Under the smart meter program, EESL is implementing its proven model of bulk procurement, aggregation of demand, and monetisation of savings to roll out smart meters. This roll-out is proposed under the cost plus model, wherein EESL will undertake all the capital and operational expenditure with zero upfront investment from states and utilities. EESL will therefore, receive a nominal Internal Rate of Return that is reflected in a mutually agreed upon, automated payback structure.
Business model of EESL is Cost plus model, wherein EESL;
• Invests Upfront, Zero CAPEX required from Utilities.
• AMI project implementation on cost plus BOOT model- EESL recovers actual cost with nominal RoE, Debt interest and Project Management Charges.
• IT Infra on Cloud for fast deployment and reduction in CAPEX
• Multiple Meter Supplier to speed up deliveries.
• Major portion of Savings vest with DISCOMs/ Utilities.
In terms of financials for the current projects, EESL expects a certain minimal amount as an inflow per meter per month (single phase meter) from the Discoms. This will be a monthly outflow of Discom (Opex) with no Capex. This makes a financial sense as this model addresses three key challenges of the Discoms- Firstly Unavailability of High Capex for such programs; secondly this monthly outflow will become self-sustainable due to the benefits Smart meters bring to the Discom in terms of increase in billing efficiency, pre-payment functionality of AMI will increase collection efficiency, reduction of revenue management costs like metering increase in operational efficiency in overall business process and increasing the customer satisfaction.
Benefits of the scheme:
• Upfront investment, installation, integration, communication and maintenance of smart meters
• DISCOMs pay over a 6-7year period rental (Rs. 70-95 per month)
• Web-based monitoring, Reduction in commercial losses of utilities, Enhanced revenues of DISCOMs (Revenue per month increase between Rs. 200-500)
• Avg. 30% reduction in AT&C losses where Smart Meter Saturation is >80%
• Revamping the current manual system of revenue collection which leads to low billing and poor collection efficiencies.
• Ease for the end consumers, monitoring through mobile based application
• Online Data Analytics- Effective Load Forecasting with on-line visibility of Consumption pattern, Disconnection of defaulters improving DISCOM cash flows

5. Decentralized Solar Power Plant Programme:
EESL/CESL has initiated a first of its kind large scale programme wherein existing agricultural feeders is being solarized via implementation of decentralized solar power plants at vacant/un-used lands at DISCOM substations.

• Building on the PM- KUSUM scheme of MNRE, CESL aims to create more than 8 GW of solar generation in the next 5-6 years specifically focusing on Decentralised mode and has already signed agreements for approx. 800 MW of generation. As on date approx. 200 MW of Solar Power Plants are commissioned. In addition to that CESL has also devised a unique and innovative model of convergence wherein various kinds of value added offering like streetlights, battery storage, energy efficient agriculture pumps, energy efficient LED lights, induction cook stove etc., are being offered to distribution utilities to build a sustainable eco- system.
Benefits of the scheme:
• Decentralized solar plants on surplus land of rural substations – to feed agriculture consumers directly reducing the chances of the encroachment of DISCOMs land.
• Work as standalone plant where the power generated could be fed locally to 11KV agricultural feeders which reduces the line losses as well as reduces subsidy burden.
• Decentralized solar directly feeding nearer to the load centers provides reliable supply of electricity to the Agricultural consumers
• The main features of supplying the power from decentralized solar plants to agriculture feeders is that demand supply matches to the maximum extent. When its rainy reason, pumping demand is low but when the sun is shining bright, electricity generation is higher to meet the high demand of water pumping/irrigation needs of farmers.
• Increased share of renewable energy.

6. E-Mobility Programme:
Government of India (GoI) approved the National Mission on Electric Mobility. Hence considering huge market potential and aspiration of GoI to take leadership in enabling e- mobility in India, EESL/CESL has got directions from Ministry of Power to enter EV domain considering demand aggregation. Subsequently, E-Mobility Programme was launched on 7th March 2018 by Hon’ble Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy.
The objective of this programme is to provide an impetus for Indian vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet operators, service providers, etc. to gain efficiencies of scale and drive down costs, create local manufacturing facilities, grow technical competencies for the long-term growth of the electric vehicle (EV) industry in India and to enable Indian EV manufacturers to emerge as major global players
Progress of the program:
• Building on FAME-II Scheme of NITI Aayog, CESL is deploying 2-wheelers, 3- wheelers and 4- wheelers mobility solutions through lease/buy options, setting up solar car-ports and public charging infrastructure. CESL aims to create a suite of awareness building, O&M, scrapping value optimisation and financing schemes by stacking central/state/OEM offerings to reduce upfront costs by 40%.

• Till date, CESL have deployed/Under deployed about 1820 nos. of 4W EVs with more than 180 clients which includes various ministries/government dept. both Central and State, PSUs, Autonomous bodies, shared mobility operator etc.

• Under the aegis of electric mobility, CESL is also working aggressively to install public charging stations across the country.
Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure (EVCI): EESL is developing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and has signed MoUs with multiple stakeholders across municipalities, DISCOMs for locational assessment study and setting up of charging infrastructures in their jurisdiction location. India’s first public charging plaza at Chelmsford Club, New Delhi was inaugurated on 20th July 2020. The charging plaza can charge 14 e-cars at the same time.
Till date, 427 nos. of Public Charging Stations (PCS) have been installed across India.
Business Model:
a) For deploying EVs: EESL aggregates the demand, issue bulk procurement to get economies to scale and provide electric cars on lease/ outright purchase basis. The lease consists of both wet and dry as per the requirement for the organizations.
The cars on lease are intended to replace the present leased vehicles in various organizations and EESL takes portion of the present lease rent that the organizations are paying to their vendors to provide e-vehicles, thereby saving the costs as well. The vehicles are maintained by EESL during this lease rental period.
b) For development of Charging Infrastructure for EVs:
EESL is developing public charging infrastructure in India. This is done on revenue share model wherein the vacant space and electric connections is being provided by Municipal Corporations/ DISCOMs and installation is being done by EESL. Beside this EESL is also installing charging stations at the premises of state and central Government offices basis their requirement.
Benefits of the scheme:
• Increased adoption of electric vehicles
• Meeting the state objectives for creating an EV ecosystem

7. Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP):
EESL is implementing the Buildings Energy Efficiency Programme to retrofit commercial buildings in India into energy efficient complexes. Through these future ready solutions, EESL is creating a market for clean energy in India
Government of India has issued an instruction to all Departments and Ministries in August 2017 to ensure all the buildings become energy efficient. Till date, EESL has completed building energy efficiency projects in 11,715 buildings and work under progress in 747 buildings including Railway stations and Airports. Energy Audits shows energy saving potential to the tune of up to 30-50% in these buildings. The major interventions in these buildings are in area of lighting and air-conditioning systems.

Business Model: BEEP
EESL building energy efficiency approach is typically based on two models namely –
1) ESCO- Entire upfront investment for the project will be borne by EESL. The investment will recover through periodical instalments which resulted from deemed energy saving over a mutually agreeable project period. O&M of new equipment is liability of EESL for contract period and this can enforce effective product warranties to ensure minimal downtime due to equipment malfunctions.
2) PMC-EESL will play a role of project management consultant for implementation of project. The upfront investment for the project will borne by client. It is onetime payment cost of services offer for the energy efficiency projects.

8. Agriculture Demand Side Management (AgDSM):
EESL is implementing the Energy Efficient Pump Programme to distribute BEE 5-star energy efficient agricultural pumps and ensures a minimum of 30% reduction in energy consumption with smart control panels which can be remotely operated to enhance the ease of operation of pumps by the farmers. Pilot projects has been completed in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan
EESL is focusing on the following agriculture intensive states in Phase-1 of the AgDSM project and rest of the states will be taken-up in next phase- “1. Andhra Pradesh 2. Uttar Pradesh, 3. Maharashtra 4. Gujarat 5. Haryana 6. Jammu & Kashmir 7. Madhya Pradesh 8. Punjab 9. Karnataka 10. Jharkhand 11. Rajasthan”
The AgDSM project for replacement of old pumps with BEE 5 Star rated pumps has started from the state of Andhra Pradesh and as on date total 81,173 no. of pumps have been installed in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Business Model: AgDSM
EESL business model encourages replacement of inefficient agricultural pump sets across India. The implementation is done under the ESCO and PMC model. Under PMC EESL plays role of consultant and the upfront cost of the equipment is borne by the client, where as in ESCO model EESL makes the entire upfront investments and the cost is recovered over an agreed period from the savings accrued. EESL not only replaces the pump sets but also maintains them for the project duration creating further incentive for the farmers. EESL aims to reduce power purchase costs for DISCOMS while reducing the subsidy burden on the government.
9. Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme:
With the goal of integrating energy efficiency into India’s cooling sector, EESL has initiated a first of its kind, Super-Efficient Air Conditioning programme. Consumers can buy the Super-Efficient Air Conditioners distributed by EESL at prices that are comparable to the most energy efficient ACs in the market. These Super-Efficient ACs provides 1.5-TR cooling capacity at high ambient temperature while also reducing the cost of cooling by 50%. As on date, EESL has deployed 3,146 Super-Efficient Air Conditioners.

Business Model: Under this through demand aggregation and bulk procurement, EESL is providing super-efficient ACs having superior specifications and efficiency than the best available BEE-5 star rated ACs in Indian market at much lower price. The ACs can be purchased through an online portal EESLmart.in, on upfront and monthly EMI basis.

10. Atal Jyoti Yojana (AJAY) Phase I & II:
EESL is implementing Atal Jyoti Yojana (AJAY), a sub-scheme under Off- Grid and Decentralized Solar Application Scheme of MNRE. Under AJAY, Solar LED Lights are being installed in rural, semi-urban and urban areas which don’t enjoy adequate coverage of power. The objective of the scheme is to provide ‘Solar Street Lighting Systems’ for public use, demonstration and replication which will help in popularizing solar energy in a big way. Under AJAY Phase-I and II, EESL has installed over 2.72 lakh Solar LED street lights in the rural areas.

11. 70 lakh Solar Study Lamp Scheme:
EESL is implementing 70 lakh solar study lamps scheme of MNRE. Under the scheme, solar study lamps are being distributed to school going children in the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, where household grid connectivity is less than 50% as per the 2011 Census. As on date, over 61.01 lakh Solar Study lamps have been distributed for school going children.

12. Trigeneration:
• Edina UK Ltd has set up its wholly owned subsidiary in India as "EPSL Trigeneration Pvt Ltd" with in house capabilities of system design and feasibility study.
• As on date, EPSL has already commissioned Mahindra and Mahindra Trigeneration project of 800 kWe. EESL has also signed SLA with Data Center in Navi Mumbai for setting up of 2.0 MW Trigeneration with 450 TR VAM (along with fully standby system).

13. National Motor Replacement Program (NMRP)
• The NMRP is a first of its kind effort at a national scale. EESL aims to create an infrastructure to accelerate adoption for Higher Efficient Motors Specifically IE3 efficiency class through innovative financing business model & awareness creation. Under this program we are offering IE3 motors ranging from 1HP to 100 HP to the Indian Industries. This program is advantageous for MSME as well as non-MSME industries. EESL is offering Upfront/PMC and EQI/ESCO business modalities to the end users. Our Suppliers are: CG Power, ABB, Siemens and Bharat Bijlee Limited. Till date 5,280 IE3 motors have been deployed in the industry.
• For more information please log on to www.motor.eeslindia.org.

References

External links

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) Official Website

Energy conservation in India
Government-owned companies of India
Indian companies established in 2009

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