Avani Riverside Shopping Mall, Kolkata, has become the first ever shopping mall in the country to get a BEE 5 star label. It is being recognized by the Government for its endeavour towards incorporating energy efficiency measures resulting in award of a 5 star label. Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) presented the 5 star label to Avani Riverside shopping Mall in a ceremony today at Kolkata.
This mall has achieved an EPI(Average Annual Energy Performance Index) value of 185.62 kWh/sq. m/annum in comparison to the Business as Usual Shopping Mall EPI of 400 kwh/sq. mtr/ annum by implementing various energy efficiency measures like integration of day light, use of sensors & controllers, waste energy recovery wheel etc. Mall has also adopted energy management system and performance indicators for facility management staff for energy saving through awareness among renters & shopkeepers in the mall. Shopkeepers and Occupiers in the Mall would be benefitted by reduced electricity bills and enhancing their business profitability.
BEE, a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, has developed a voluntary Star rating programme for commercial buildings, which is based on the actual performance of a building in terms of its specific energy usage in kwh/sqm/year.
Considering that the sectoral consumption of electricity is about 34% of the total consumption in India, star rating programme is designed to motivate building owners to move towards efficient mode of operations thereby resulting in reduced electricity bills and improved comforts. So far, more than 150 buildings have been awarded star label under various building categories, which has resulted in about 50 MW avoided capacity. Considering that addition of each MW of electricity on the generation side costs Rupees 6-7 crores/ MW, merely by adopting low cost energy efficiency measures which has yielded in monitoring savings of about Rupees 350 crores. Adoption of the scheme by all commercial buildings would have a greater impact on the overall economy in view of power supply-demand shortfall that our country is currently facing.