JAY JOSHI
As our civilisations wakes up to global warming and the pollution caused by sources of conventional energy, we realise that there is an urgent need to change the way we produce and consume energy. As the World Energy Conservation Day observed on December 14 reminds us to mind our ways, factors such as rising inflation are pushing individuals to use energy wisely, and look for cheaper alternatives.
In Goa itself, as the prices of LPG have continued to rise, induction cooktops and saria cookers which use charcoal as fuel are becoming increasingly popular, and are proving good alternatives to LPG in many respects.
“There was a time when one LPG cylinder barely lasted for one-and-half month to feed my family of three, but we shifted to the sarai cooker a few years ago, and now the LPG lasts for 5 to 6 months,” informs Rekha Joshi, a housewife from Ponda. She furhter points out that an LPG cylinder costs around Rs 826, whereas charcoal for the Sarai cooker costs Rs 30 per kg. “And we need around 100 grams of charcoal per day for cooking rice, vegetable, and rassam twice a day. So, the cost of cooking two meals a day is just Rs 3!” she quips. The sarai cooker unit too is cheap, with the large size unit costing around Rs 2400. All in all, it’s pretty economical deal, but there are issues.
“To be honest, our experience of using Sarai cooker was positive, but we gave it up,” says PK Ghate, a pensioner from Ponda. “In monsoons the charcoal became moist and would not light. Later, the facility from where I bought charcoal had some issues and they stopped production.” Ghate needed around 3 to 4 kg charcoal every month for his family of four. He stresses that along with the movement to popularise sarai cookers, efforts must also be made to ensure adequate and smooth supply of charcoal.
While issues with production and supply of charcoal are slowing down the progress of sarai cookers, nothing it seems is halting the forward march of induction cooktops. “Earlier, we used to sell around 55-60 units annually, but since last couple of years, we are witnessing around 200 units being sold each year,” informs Balkrishna Desai, a businessman from Priol who runs a shop selling electrical appliances.
“Almost 90% of our bulb sale is now LEDs and we are phasing out the mercury bulbs. Similarly, the new BLDC fans which consume far less energy than conventional fans are becoming increasingly popular,” informs Desai, adding that while the conventional fan consumes 75 watts of power, the BLDS fan only needs 35 watts.
Similarly, awareness about using solar power is also growing, notes Rohit Mehta, the proprietor of Solar Enterprises, Margao. “There is considerable awareness and demand for solar power, but there are issues,” says Mehta “For solar power to work effectively, ‘reverse metering’ needs to be implemented.” If the power generated is more than demand, reverse metering enables the users to give the extra power back to the grid, and charge the government for that. “This has not yet been implemented in Goa, and that has limited the number of users seeking to shift to solar power,” Mehta notes.
Indeed, alternatives to conventional sources of energy are rising in Goa but their growih is limited by a number of issues.
