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Evaluating energy efficiency programmes in India

Energy efficiency can play a crucial role in India’s goal to provide reliable and affordable access to energy in a sustainable and secure manner. A number of policies and programmes aimed at conserving energy, improving efficiency, and managing demand have been implemented in India in recent years. The scale and scope of these programmes is increasing as evidenced in the large scale LED bulb programme, UJALA. However, limited attention is given to comprehensively evaluate these programmes. A comprehensive evaluation systematically investigates all the impacts and the effectiveness of a programme in achieving them. This increases the credibility of energy efficiency programmes and consequent use of the savings estimates in the planning process. Secondly, a comprehensive evaluation provides lessons for reviewing the current programmes and effectively designing new ones to realize maximum possible energy savings cost-effectively. This report provides broad guidelines to evaluate energy efficiency programmes in India. Towards, this objective, first identify the barriers precluding periodic evaluations in India along with some recommendations to overcome them. We then review the best practices adopted globally and provide case studies to illustrate them. The report is targeted at the policy-makers, distribution companies, and regulators who can commission comprehensive evaluations of the energy efficiency programmes currently being implemented in India. It can also be used by the energy efficiency institutions in India (BEE, EESL, and the state designated agencies) to incorporate comprehensive evaluations in their programme designs. Finally, the report also aims to highlight the importance of comprehensive evaluations of energy efficiency programmes among consumers, civil society organizations, and researchers in India.

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