100-day campaign reduces emissions, saves electricity: IMC

Indore: Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), consistently recognised as India's cleanest city for the past seven years, claimed on Friday to have achieved a verified saving of 1.51 crore units of electricity – 0.76 crore units in January and 0.75 crore in February under a 100-day campaign.

"This significant reduction was measured against the city's projected consumption based on a four-year historical data analysis. The savings were validated using real-time data provided by the city's electricity distributor, MPPKVVCL," mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said, adding that the environmental and economic benefits of this campaign are substantial. "The reduced consumption helped avoid the emission of 12,000 metric tonne of CO2, which is equivalent to preserving the carbon absorption capacity of 12,000 fully grown trees. Furthermore, the initiative resulted in direct financial savings of Rs 29.8 crore in just two months," he said. He added that if this pattern of responsible electricity consumption continues throughout the year, Indore has the potential to save over 9 crore units of electricity, prevent 72,000 metric tonne of CO2 emissions, and reduce electricity bills by more than Rs 258.5 crore annually.

This carbon footprint reduction is comparable to saving 72,000 trees and negating the need for 64 MW of new solar power generation capacity, the mayor said. On-ground execution of the mission was spearheaded by Professor Chetan Singh Solanki of IIT Bombay and received strong support from the mayor. The campaign effectively engaged citizens from all segments of society – students, teachers, ward corporators, auto drivers, and volunteers – through a variety of outreach activities. These included talks, climate chaupals (community discussions), a solar-powered bus promoting energy conservation, informative hoardings, radio programmes, and grassroots-level engagement.