Atiq Khan Mayawati government's drive towards energy conservation To bring down power consumption by 10 p.c. State is deficient in power generation LUCKNOW: In a massive energy conservation drive, use of compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) has been made compulsory in government buildings, aided institutions, corporations and autonomous bodies in Uttar Pradesh. An order to this effect was issued by the State government on July 15. It has been estimated that with the use of CFL, consumption of energy would be cut down by about 10 per cent. The Principal Secretary, Energy, V.N. Garg, said here on Monday that following the Government Order, the use and procurement of incandescent bulbs by Government offices and corporations had been banned with immediate effect. The officials have been directed to replace the fused and defective incandescent bulbs with CFL. Awareness campaign Apart from making the use of CFL mandatory in government offices, steps will also be taken to create awareness among the people on conserving energy with the use of CFL. The onus will be on the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to educate the public on the use of CFL instead of the traditional bulbs at the time of sanctioning power load and new connections to the consumers. Mr. Garg said the UPPCL had been directed to make the necessary amendments in the Load Demand Notice related to the use of CFL. The State Energy Secretary added that energy conservation was one of the top priorities of the Mayawati government and the order on CFL would help create awareness among the people on the need to conserve electricity. Not only would power used by consumers be less, the monthly electricity bills would also be less. Fifteen categories of consumers have been identified in the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, for whom use of energy conservation measures had been mandatory from March 1, 2007. These sets of consumers include aluminium factories, fertilizer and cement units, iron and steel companies, railways, chemicals and petrochemical units and commercial buildings. Thermal and hydro power stations managed by the UPPCL, transmission and distribution companies have been clubbed together as one category of power consumers in the ECA, 2001. The UPPCL is the State Designated Agency to ensure the use of energy conservation measures by the 15 category of power consumers. The need for energy conservation has immense importance as the State is deficient on the power generation front. Of the five thermal units, the average generation of electricity stands at around 2,200 to 2,300 megawatts. The demand during peak hour touches around 7,500-8,000 MW.