The state government has recently issued orders making the Andhra Pradesh Energy Conservation Building Code (APECBC) mandatory to get building approvals for commercial and non-residential buildings with a plot area of 1,000 square meters or built up area of 2,000 square meters.
The municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) department issued GO 180 amending the AP Building Rules 2017, making compliance to APECBC mandatory for commercial buildings.
Compliance with ECBC has been integrated in Development Permission Management System (DPMS) for building approvals, which effectively means that building approvals will only be given if designs are in compliance with the code. Hotels, multiplexes, hospitals and convention centres must adhere to ECBC irrespective of their built up area.
The energy department has empanelled 34 Third Party Assessors (TPAs) across the state to check compliance with ECBC at the design and occupancy stages in upcoming commercial buildings. The Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) along with AP Energy Conservation Mission (APSECM) recently conducted a webinar for officials of urban local bodies to explain the process of implementation of ECBC.
secretary of MAUD J Syamala Rao said the ECBC provides present as well as futuristic advancements in building technology and will save energy consumption as well as reduce greenhouse gases emission. Implementation of ECBC will be supervised by director of town planning V Ramudu.
Secretary of the energy department Srikant Nagulapalli said implementation of ECBC is a significant development in energy and building sectors. He observed that the energy demand in commercial buildings presently stands at 3,117 million units and with the effective implementation of ECBC, this demand can be reduced by about 30%.
Director of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Saurabh Diddhi said AP is the third state in the country to make ECBC compliance a mandatory. The move will be a major step in making the state energy-efficient, Diddhi said.
The Union ministry of power-led Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced the ECBC in commercial and non-residential buildings with the objective to ensure construction of energy-efficient buildings with reduced electrical energy by 30 to 40%. ECBC can reduce electricity bills for building owners, apart from environmental benefits and help improve living standards of people.
