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While one cannot deny that there are power supply bottlenecks, the demand for electricity has also multiplied in the last two years. With this the unauthorised installation of ACs has made matters worse.
The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) has already sent mailers to its customers with Do's and Don't's about installing an air conditioner.
It states: "If you are planning to install air conditioners let us help you. You may be aware that the capacities of meters and other equipment for supplying electricity to a consumer are based on the connected load applied for the consumer. Consumers need to inform the licensee (CESC) if there is any change in this connected load," the mailer states.
The CESC has also appealed to its consumers to inform it in case they have plans to increase the additional load.
"We reiterate and request all our consumers to inform us before installing and connecting any additional load, specially air conditioners, so that we may increase the supply capacity, if required," the mailer, which has been despatched to households with the latest electricity bills, states.
According to estimates made by the CESC, on an average there has been a 50 MW increase in evening peak hour demand as compared to last year.
"The rise in demand is definitely due to increased use of energy gadgets like microwave ovens. In the summer months, it could be attributed to the use of air conditioners," said an official of the CESC.
The shopping malls have also triggered a demand for power in the city. On the other hand, the increase in demand is partly offset by the shut down of industries, said an official of the power department.
Unofficial estimates say that the number of AC installations in Salt Lake itself has shot up by more than 70 per cent, said a senior official of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited. A reasonably upmarket neighbourhood of 100 households used to see 30 AC installations. Now 70 households have ACs, a CESC official.
According to an official of Capital Electronics, the last two years has witnessed a 40 per cent increase in window type Acs, mostly used by domestic consumers.
But it is difficult for the power utilities in the city to come up with exact figures for installations in air conditioners. More often than not, consumers do not reveal the installations for fear of paying up higher security deposit money due to the increased load.
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RatingCESC is failing to supply powers for years. They have not done anything in years. Kolkata still remains under dark. But when it comes to cutting powerlines and collecting bills, they are very active. Probably some company needs to break this monopoly of CESC in power sector. The Service of CESC is probably the worst in the Country. We have nochoice so we are forced to continue dealing with this company...probably companies like Reliance or Tata could have helped us to get out of this dark situation.
In a typical Indian house, air conditioners consume 80% of the total power used. More demand for power leads to more burning of fossil fuels (coal or oil) at the power stations leading to more greenhouse gases contributing to further global warming - adding to the demand for more ACs. This vicious circle needs to be addressed.One practical way in which this vicious circle can be broken or reduced is through better thermal insulation. It works on same principle as in cold climates except in reverse i.e. prevents outside heat from entering and heating the inside of a house.A civil engineer I know has actually implemented this idea for the house he has built for himself. This house has a dual ceiling with a gap in between the two, which has been filled with wood shavings before being sealed. The south facing wall is a cavity wall with polystyrene type of insulation between the external and internal wall. Therefore the house does not need air conditioning at all!
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