Telangana has become the first state to comply with the Energy Conservation and Building Code Guidelines (ECBC).

Addressing the second regional workshop to implement Energy Conservation Building Code in India, Arvind Kumar, the principal secretary of the municipal administration department, stated that so far, 13 states had been notified of the ECBC-2017 guidelines, but none of them had come up with an implementation protocol yet.

Currently, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is the first urban local body in the country to be ECBC compliant. GHMC has 21 new collectorate complexes coming in the state that are going to be ECBC compliant.

The ECBC compliance has been incorporated in an online building approval system (DPMS) of urban local bodies and 38 ECBC third party assessors are empanelled with the Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation and GHMC.

This system has been established for the first time in the country in any urban local body for energy efficiency compliance in building construction. GHMC has also issued licenses to empanelled third party assessors which is also first time in the country. The government is expected to engage with the builders to discuss the cost economics and also to spread awareness among the building community about new technologies that are available.

In 2017, Mercom had reported on the launch of the ECBC-2017 guidelines. The ECBC 2017 prescribes the energy performance standards for new commercial buildings to be constructed in India. It provides current as well as futuristic advancements in building technology to further reduce building energy consumption and promote low-carbon growth by setting parameters for builders, designers, and architects to integrate renewable energy sources in building design with the inclusion of passive design strategies.

Recently, Mercom also reported that the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was planning to launch similar guidelines for the residential sector.

The implementation of ECBC guidelines is estimated to achieve a 50 percent reduction in energy use by 2030.

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.