EESL plans to enter induction cook stove segment

After foraying into energy efficient light bulbs, LED lights, ceiling fans and ACs, State-run Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) on Wednesday said it will look entering the energy efficient induction cook stove market next. EESL, which is a joint venture of four other PSUs including NTPC, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, and PowerGrid Corporation, last month had started selling super efficient air conditioners, manufactured by Voltas, that consume 20-30 per cent less energy in Delhi.

"We will enter the induction cook stove segment, maybe in a couple of month's time. We are working on it," EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar told reporters here. The company plans to roll out its AC scheme to 15-20 cities in the next one to two months.

On Wednesday the company informed that it has expanded the programme to six cities besides Delhi -- Mumbai, Bengaluru, chennai, Kolkata, Hyderbad and Jaipur. Kumar said the ACs have got 10,000 registrations so far on the website and the company is confident of selling 50,000 units that it has procured from Voltas in the next six months.

The room inverter AC market in the country is estimated to be 5 million units, growing at 12-15 per cent. He added that the company had to launch the ACs in the off-season as it had to defer its launch plans due to the elections.

EESL expects to save 145.5 million kWh (about Rs 120 crore per annum) of electricity per year mitigating around 1,20,000 t CO2 annually through the deployment of 50,000 ACs. The approximate investment for this project is around Rs 190 crore and will be partially supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Additionally, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing necessary grant support and loan, with United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) providing technical assistance.

On the company's plans of going public, Kumar said, "not in the immediate future. We were planning but I think we need to consolidate a few more verticals. Let these become slightly more mature in a couple of years and then we will head for an IPO." PTI DS AP AP.