GENERATE ELECTRIC POWER FOR FREE.

India cannot solve its energy-power needs in the near future (the current five year plan - 2007 to 2012, proposes production of about 78,000 MW in addition to a current installed capacity of about 141,000 MW). A large number of the citizens ... up to 450 million (about 85 million households as per 2001 Census), are forced to live with no access to electricity, they still use Kerosene. Some 3.3 million (0.62 million households), have no means of home lighting at all. The other sources of energy: crude oil, coal, biomass, gas, solar and wind, are also not accessible-affordable to many Indian citizens, most of who live in the total 229,000 villages (population above 1,000 as per 2001 Census), in India.

While the rich citizens of the OPEC and OECD countries live in wanton luxury, some of the better off citizens of India, waste energy without thought. Think ... every percentage point of energy saved, is equivalent to a percentage point of energy produced. This, with out the issue of 'green house gases', raw material, equipment, labour, theft, losses. So ... it costs nothing to save energy.

Mumbai city currently suffers an electric power shortage of about 1000 MW, Maharashtra State a current shortage of about 4000 MW, while the current all India shortage is about 22,000 MW. The current national production of about 612 billion units of electricity per year, gives about 532 units of electricity per capita per year. This is only about 25% of the global average and works out to about 235 units of electric energy per Indian household per month. This huge shortage, can be reduced by each citizen saving energy in any form, thereby helping reduce 'production pollution' and making the saved amount available to fellow citizens, farms and industry.

So ... citizens of India, go on and save.

1. Try not to use cars for single passenger. Reduce trips to the market to once in ten days. Try walking if it requires only 15 minutes. Drive at medium speeds, try not to overtake. Switch off engine if waiting for more than one minute. Use car AC only when absolutely essential.

2. Switch off electric appliances from the wall plug whenever you can. Open windows instead of using fans and ACs. Use the sun for drying clothes, not dryers. Reduce the temperature setting on your water heaters. Replace geysers with storage heaters. Use white / yellow CFLs instead of filament or halogen lamps. Reduce use of dish washers. Walk down the stairs, it saves lift power and gives you exercise. Save lighting energy in your housing complexes. Keep sound amplifiers at low settings.

3. When cooking, keep your gas rings at low or medium. Use pressure cooker where ever possible with a low setting. Use microwave for heating food. Keep moderate setting on your refrigerator.

4. Save water, it needs energy for filtering and pumping. Do not use running water for shaving, brushing and washing anything.

5. Do not burn garden waste, bury it ... it makes good manure and eliminates smoke and CO2.

6. Follow these points even at your place of work. Enable 'sleep mode' in your desktop computers, reduce print-outs, and review setting of your HVAC systems. Switch off machines promptly when not in use.

7. Most important, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, renew.

If parents and children learn and internalise these simple practices, India will save up to 25% of its energy needs ... that means produce 25% more energy without:

1. spending a rupee,

2. without waiting for four years to build power plants,

3. without generating green house gases and damaging the environment,

4. without giving more money to be misused for ostentatious living by the super rich nations.

Remember there are about 85 million households in India without access to electric lighting. Think and understand their plight.

(Data taken from censusundia.gov.in web link and various India Power Ministry publications).