Energy Conservation Building Code mandatory in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: In a significant move, the State government has issued orders making Andhra Pradesh Energy Conservation Building Code (APECBC) mandatory to get building approvals for commercial and non-residential buildings with a plot area of 1,000 square meters or built up area of 2,000 square meters.

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department, which plays proactive role in implementation of ECBC, has issued a GO MS No 180 on Saturday making amendments in AP Building rules-2017 which made APECBC compliance mandatory for commercial buildings.

Union Ministry of Power-led Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced the ECBC in commercial and non-residential buildings with an objective to ensure construction of energy efficient buildings with reduced electrical energy by 30- 40 per cent.

ECBC can help reduce electricity bills for building owners, stake holders apart from environmental benefits and help to improve living standards of people. ECBC is one of the most cost-effective tools to curb future energy demand, deliver significant cost energy savings.

Giving details of the ECBC, secretary for MA&UD J Syamala Rao in a press release on Sunday said that the municipal administration and urban development department would extend its full support for implementation of ECBC in the State. He said that the ECBC provides present as well as futuristic advancement in building technology. It will provide minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design and construction of buildings thus reduces energy consumption and reduces the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.

The ECBC provides a platform for the stakeholders such as building industry including Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Developers Association (APREDA), manufacturers, professionals, government agencies, etc to participate in the market development for energy efficient construction.

The Municipal administration and urban development department has already integrated the ECBC compliance into the online Development Permission Management System (DPMS) for building approvals. With the APECBC has come into force, all the commercial buildings, other non-residential buildings that have a plot area of more than 1000 square meters or built up area of 2000 square meters and multiplexes, hospitals, hotels, and convention centers irrespective of their built up area shall comply with the APECB Code to get building approvals in municipal corporations, municipalities and Urban Development Authorities (UDA).