Environmental and power generation implications of efficient electrical appliances for India

We analyse the potentials of selected efficient appliances (EAs) for air pollutant mitigation and reducing the need for rapidly escalating power generation in India from the national, utility and user perspectives. The study shows that about 10.1% of total cumulative generation and about 7.4, 8.7 and 9.8% of total cumulative CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x emissions, respectively, could be avoided between 1997 and 2015 by using EAs. At currently prevailing electricity and appliance prices, cost-effective levels of avoided generation and air pollutant mitigation potentials are significantly lower from the users' viewpoint. The level of air pollutant mitigation would be significantly higher if an efficient electricity pricing policy were adopted and if relatively low interest loans were available for the purchase of EAs.