Coimbatore textile mills having faced the hit in operations due to long hours of power cut have taken steps towards energy conservation as technology is available for every activity to bring down the electricity consumed in the mills, said M. Senthil Kumar, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association.

Be it the spinning mills or the humidification plants, machinery come with energy saving upgrades. At present, only two percent to three percent of the mills have gone in for LEDs. There is still much that can be done by the mills for saving energy in operations.

Foundries and engineering units have started looking at ways to have better power supply, bring down the energy bill, and save on the power consumed. Though power cuts are not an issue here now, the units have tremendous scope for energy conservation.

According to Prabhu Damodaran, Secretary of Indian Texpreneurs Federation, the mills have scope for seven percent to 11 percent energy saving in a year if they take the required steps. The efforts should be two-pronged - monitoring and studying areas that need attention and taking the remedial measures.

Since energy conservation requires investment, he said that they have asked the mills to prioritize areas that need to be addressed. In the case of power loom units, one option for bringing down the power consumed is by going in for solar panels. However, the investments are high and hence the units have sought subsidy from the central and State Governments.

While according to J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, micro units have not done much towards energy conservation. The rate that the micro units get for the job work they do for larger industries is not much and hence, these units are unable to invest in energy saving tools.

Moreover, the micro units focus is more on day to day operations and not many units have the resources to take up energy conservation. However, it is an area that needs attention by the industry.

The Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association plans to select a few foundries and pump set units for a study on energy. It has focused on energy conservation for the last two years. Though the level of awareness is high and there is a necessity to save energy consumed, the units are reluctant to invest because of the current market conditions.

Also pumpset manufacturers who make Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)-labelled products need to be encouraged by the Central and State Governments by making these products mandatory. It will bring more manufacturers into manufacture of energy efficient pumpsets for the agricultural sector.