Electricity Consumer Cell (ECC), Tirunelveli, organized a capacity building programme on “Energy Governance” on June 21, 2018, at Tirunelveli Electricity Board Workers Retired Association, Thiyagarajar Nagar, Tirunelveli. The purpose of the programme was to build consumer awareness on energy conservation and to educate them about energy-efficient devices at the household level. Consumer groups, civil society organizations, and local residents participated in the programme.
Mr. Venkatachalam, Tirunelveli Consumer Protection Sangam, welcomed the participants and gave an introduction on the efforts of ECC Tirunelveli in supporting consumers address electricity issues. He further gave examples of how the ECC functions as a bridge between consumers and TANGEDCO.
Mr. Shanmugam, Advisor, ECC Tirunelveli, explained in detail about his role in ECC. He explained about the problem-solving mechanism and the nature of the complaints registered in ECC. He gave some tips on how to use electricity efficiently and the benefits of solar power in energy conservation. He further advised the consumers to register complaints in written to the higher officials not to the field’s staff in order to avoid the losses.
G.N.Bharath Ram, Researcher, CAG, gave a presentation on energy efficiency and energy conservation methods at the household level. He listed out the household appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, geysers, fan, tube lights and bulbs that consume more electricity and suggested replacing them with the latest energy-efficient devices. He described a comparative analysis on how to save your electricity bill when a normal incandescent bulb is replaced with LED lamps. He further gave examples of simple energy-saving methods for the above-mentioned household devices.
Mr. I. Anto Jeyarajan, Business Head, Green Tech Solar, gave a presentation on solar power for households. He talked about the application of solar thermal energy and rooftop solar photovoltaics for homes. He showcased some of the successful projects of Green Tech Solar at various locations with the help of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. He also highlighted various subsidies available and net-metering benefits of using rooftop solar.
Mr. Sivasubramaniyam, Assistant Engineer, TANGEDCO, appreciated the efforts of CAG in implementing ECC at Tirunelveli. He explained about the reasons for frequent power cuts and power failure in Tirunelveli especially during the night time. He informed the consumers about the new feature for registering the complaints introduced by TANGEDCO through the latest technology by sending a complaint with photograph and location through “WHATSAPP”.
Mr. Muthuswamy, organizer, ECC Tirunelveli, concluded the session with a vote of thanks.