Passenger cars to be 'star' rated in India

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Passenger cars in India will soon have to carry a “star label” indicating their fuel efficiency. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, a body under the Union Power Ministry, has included passenger cars in a list of 21 products that are necessarily required to carry the star label for energy efficiency by 2011. “Passenger car is categorized as an ‘equipment’ under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. Hence, it is required to carry a star label (1-5 stars) indicating the fuel efficiency,” energy economist in the Bureau of Energy Efficiency Sandeep Garg said. “No exact timeline has been fixed for this though we intend to bring 21 products into the star labelling scheme by the year 2011,” Garg said. Star labelling for energy efficiency also becomes mandatory for air-conditioners, refrigerators, power distribution transformers and tube lights (TFL) from January 1, 2010. From then, these electrical appliances will be required to carry a label indicating the power consumption details and efficiency as per the Energy Conservation Act, according to Garg. Washing machines, computer monitors, kerosene stoves, microwave ovens, uninterrupted power supply systems and consumer electronic items would also be required to carry star labelling under the Standards and Labelling procedure. Only six states – Karnataka, Uttaranchal, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh – have made it mandatory to buy only three-star rated power distribution transformers. “Our objective is to save at least 10,000 MW of power by the end of the XI Five Year Plan period by enforcing energy efficiency measures, mostly on the demand side. We could save 2104.1 MW of power in 2008-09, compared to only 623.1 MW the previous year. All this has come about with a series of energy efficiency measures we have put in place,” the energy economist explained. He said discussions were on with manufacturers for labeling high-end products like LCD and Plasma television sets and also set-top boxes. Even mobile chargers could require a star label in the near future. “The bigger the size of an LCD\Plasma TV, the higher is the power consumption and the resultant power bill. Hence, the need for star rating and labelling,” Sandeep pointed out. He also said the BEE has mooted a differential tax system for star-rated products. “A five-star rated appliance should have a zero per cent tax while a 4-12 per cent tax could be imposed on those rated between 4 and 1. Since a lesser taxed product benefits them, consumers will go for a better rated one and thereby push the demand for star labelling,” he reasoned.