How Energy Efficiency Can Be Beneficial For Indian Economy Amid COVID-19

The pandemic has proved to be more than just a danger to the health of Indians. As an indirect effect, COVID19 is also responsible for the drop in economic growth. Shutting down business has taken away jobs, and made lives harder for many people in India. Unemployment shot up to 26% on 19th April from 6.7% on 15th March, which in turn negatively affected the income of approximately 45% of Indian households. According to the Ministry of Statistics, India’s growth in the fourth quarter of the 2020 fiscal year went down by 3.1%. As per the Chief Economic Adviser to the government, this drop in growth is primarily due to the pandemic’s effect on the Indian economy.  

Energy usage is an intricate part of every Indian’s life, whether through electricity or other means. With the economy slowing down and affecting so many people, it is necessary to ensure that it is managed efficiently. In recent years the government has encouraged the use of efficient management to solve problems with supply and demand in India. This has also prompted many to go for energy management courses from reputed Institutes like NTPC School of Business. Improvements in the efficient use of energy can reduce the amount consumed to power any service.

Reducing consumption will affect costs among households and positively affect the savings of many people. It will also help distribution companies to keep supplying businesses and emergency facilities with power during peak times. An efficient system also reduces the number of requirements for services such as mobility and lighting. Other than conserving it, as part of the process, this will also provide economic, social, and environmental benefits. Here are some ways efficient usage can help the economy:

Impact on employment:

The need for maintaining efficient use of industrial equipment will also open up jobs for many. This improvement will ensure that the energy services market will provide a further source of employment. These companies contracted to provide efficiency benefits to customers regularly, and utilities delivering efficiency by policymakers, are the two primary factors which are responsible for employing more than a million people globally. Nowadays there are quite a few renewable energy management colleges in India that provide courses dedicated to understanding properly managing energy. With the pandemic affecting most of Indian society in various ways, knowing how to analyze the use and devising means to efficiently manage can help with benefits to industries as well as communities.

Potential positive impact on GDP:

The European Commission modeled four separate scenarios in 2017, to assess increased targets for the EU’s 2030 efficiency target. Estimating the impact, the analysis shows improvements at various levels of reduction in consumption. In terms of the impact on GDP, each scenario showed a positive change ranging from 0.1% up to 2% of increased efficiency.

Effect on productivity:

Productivity is affected by the physical work environment, primarily temperature, lighting, and air quality, which efficient management can positively affect. Healthier work environments add comfort, and by reducing employee absenteeism also improves productivity. A study from the US Department of Labour found that normally the rate of absenteeism in the private sector is 3%, while in the public sector it is 4%. If efficient use can reduce or eliminate that, it could be profitable for companies, also ensuring a healthy work environment and stable employment for more people.

Fuel economy standards:

Out of approximately 1.5 million workers in the Indian parts sector, around half work on parts that increase the fuel economy of vehicles. Half of even that are employees who work with automotive components and technologies that contribute to fuel efficiency. This proves that making something efficient will make space for more jobs for people. It is not just making efficient systems, but there is a whole other market for maintaining such systems, thus ensuring employment for many people.

Creation of manufacturing jobs:

The number of industrial employees working to make efficient products or devices like a hybrid car or a refrigerator in the industrial sector are just as many as those making inefficient products. In a modern world where most people are aware of increasing costs, manufacturing jobs related to improving efficiency will always be available, ensuring that people will gain jobs in the race for efficiency, not lose those.

While efficient management can help create employment opportunities, there are other benefits that most people can gain from it. It can be used not only by power companies to reduce wastage. Even the general population can apply its properties to reduce consumption in their households. This does not only work towards conservation but also helps reduce pollution. Promoting a healthier living can stop improper use from adding more problems for people during such times. The pandemic has made it uncertain for the Indian economy’s future, but there is always hope for better days, and energy management can light the way forward.