Leh, April 13: The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, GoI and Power Development Department (PDD), Ladakh in association with the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) organised the first stakeholder workshop on the preparation of State Energy Efficiency Action Plan (SEEAP) for Union Territory of Ladakh at DC Conference Hall, Leh. Secretary, Power, UT Ladakh, Ravinder Kumar was the chief guest for the event.

Secretary Power, Ravinder Kumar shared that, after the formation of the Union Territory of Ladakh and the constitution of the State Designated Agency (SDA), this is the first stakeholder workshop under the State Energy Efficiency Action Plan and is an important one to achieve the energy efficiency commitments. He added that Ladakh had set the target to be the first carbon-neutral region in the country by 2050. 

Secretary Ravinder added that Ladakh has immense scope in energy efficiency as passive solar technology can be used in different sectors be it agriculture, housing and animal husbandry, etc

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. He added that the draft action plan on energy efficiency would majorly highlight on reduction of carbon emissions and measures to be energy efficient. He also shared that the UT Administration and all the departments would provide all the necessary support and assistance in the timely completion of the draft action plan.

Secretary BEE, R K Rai, in his thematic address, highlighted the targets set under the Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) and added that every stakeholder can contribute to meeting those targets. He also shared that the draft action plan for UT Ladakh would be prepared under the guidance of all the departments and stakeholders.

Chief Engineer, PDD Leh, Ghulam Ahmad Mir stressed that efficient use of energy is needed to tackle the adverse effect of the rising global warming. He added that the workshop would focus on identifying the energy consumption of the different sectors and measures to make them energy efficient. He added that the nomination of nodal officers from each department would be beneficial for sharing data and other energy-related issues in the preparation of the energy-efficient action plan.  

Project Coordinator, SEEAP, ASSOCHAM, Kishan Khatri gave a detailed presentation on the draft inception report prepared for UT Ladakh. He highlighted the various tasks assigned in preparation of the SEEAP, such as identification of key stakeholders in UT Ladakh, assessment of the status of policies and their implementation and collection of relevant data, identification of focus sectors, State/UT level gap identification and analysis of it, preparation of draft short-term and long-term action plan and preparation of monitoring plan among others.

Kishan Khatri added that a sector-based energy efficiency approach is required for UT Ladakh to identify the focus sector. He highlighted that the action plan would identify the current challenges in implementing the current and upcoming energy-efficient policies and suggest corrective actions to eliminate those challenges. 

He also shared that a similar stakeholder workshop under SEEAP is scheduled to be held in Kargil on April 16 for Kargil district.

The workshop ended with an extensive discussion and deliberation among the stakeholders/ participants on the measures and methodologies for the preparation of the draft State Energy Efficiency Action Plan for UT Ladakh. 

Additional Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Sonam Chosjor; representatives from different departments; concerned officers of the Power Development Department, Leh and officers from Bureau of Energy Efficiency, GoI and ASSOCHAM attended the workshop.