‘ACs in the day to be operated at 26°C’: Andaman issues unique rules on power consumption
1 min read 15 Mar 2023, 06:57 PM ISTAll government buildings shall switch off their air conditioners, garden lighting from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. Optimal utilisation of lights in office premises be ensured: Read the directive
PremiumAndaman and Nicobar authorities have for the first time issued directives for the for the island Union territory on curbing electricity consumption, even as capital Port Blair and several other South Andaman cities plunge into darkness owing to severe ‘paucity’ of power.
The official order issued by Andaman and Nicobar authorities, shared by Moneycontrol, shows that residents of the islands have been asked to avoid using microwave, geyser or Air conditioner in order to curb electricity consumption.
The directive also asks commercial shops to shut down by 7pm. The directive further asks industrial consumers, hotels and theatres to use diesel generator (DG) sets for four hours in the evening.
“It is brought to the notice of all concerned that a sudden rise in power demand has created severe paucity of 5-6 megawatts (MW) power in Port Blair and adjoining areas of South Andaman. A detailed demand side management has been prepared to ensure optimal utilisation of available power to avoid rotational load-shedding," read the order.
The directive also noted that government work hours will be shifted to non-peak hours in order to restrict the usage of ACs. lights and fans in the office premises. Government offices will now operate from 7.30am to 4.30pm.
These timings however, do not apply to DC office, police department, government hospitals, control rooms of Port Blair Municipal Council, Public Works Department and electricity departments in Andaman and Nicobar.
“All government buildings shall switch off their air conditioners, garden lighting from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. Optimal utilisation of lights in office premises be ensured and unnecessary lightning may be switched off. Air-conditioners used during day hours be operated at 26 degrees Celsius and be used with ceiling fans," the administration said.
“All government establishments functioning beyond 5pm, installed with DG sets shall be on captive generation (operate their DG sets) from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. All hoteliers and cine theatres shall be on captive generation during the same period. All industrial consumers like bakery, ice plant/cold storage, fabrication units etc, shall meet their power requirement through captive generation from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. In case of non-availability of standby DG sets, they will suspend work from during the said four hours. Consumers in all categories shall avoid usage of high power consuming gadgets like ACs, geysers, microwave etc, with optimum utilisation of lighting from 5:30 pm to 10 pm," read the order.
