BEE announces 31st National Energy Conservation Awards

New Delhi: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the guidance of the Ministry of Power, recognises and encourages endeavours of industrial units, institutions and establishments in reducing energy consumption by felicitating them with National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day, celebrated on 14th December every year. This year, a new award – National Energy Efficiency Innovation Awards (NEEIA) is also institutionalised, said an official statement on Saturday.

This year, the NECA and NEEIA awards are being organised as part of the "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav." The awardees of the National Energy Conservation Awards and National Energy Efficiency Innovation Awards would be felicitated on December 14, on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day, by high-level dignitaries.

The National Energy Conservation Awards are given to the energy-intensive units of various sectors of the Indian economy for their exceptional achievements in reducing specific energy consumption. For NECA (2021), online applications were called from industry, transport, building, institution and appliance category, which were further divided into 30 sectors. A total of 408 applicants participated for NECA 2021 till the closing date. The award committee chaired by Power Secretary Alok Kumar has finalised the awardees who would be felicitated with National Energy Conservation Awards on December 14.

This year, apart from National Energy Conservation Award (NECA), the Ministry of Power has also initiated National Energy Efficiency Innovation Award (NEEIA). It is to recognise "Innovative Energy Efficiency Technologies" and to install a sense of competition to motivate industries and sectors to develop innovative energy efficiency efforts in their units, said the ministry.  Online applications were invited from Category A (Industry, Transport, Building) & Category B (Students & Research Scholars) applicants.

A total of 149 applicants participated for NEEIA 2021 by the due date. The Energy Efficiency Innovation Award is the need of the hour to promote newer technologies, ideas, and pave way for the adoption of these innovations by larger groups. The award shall encourage to apply new methods to achieve energy efficiency and to lay greater emphasis on research and development. Innovation has the potential to bring about substantial changes in a smaller span of time and to create a way for new employment opportunities.

As promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy are major pillars for low carbon energy transition, recognition of such efforts undertaken by various participants stimulate further action in accelerating the transition. Outcomes of which eventually contribute towards meeting India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and broader climate goals.

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