The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered a $13 million grant agreement with India’s Energy Efficiency Services (EESL). The grant will be provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the additional financing of an ongoing ADB-supported project that is promoting end-use energy efficiency.

Minister of Power, New, and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh oversaw the exchange of the grant agreements between ADB and EESL during the inauguration of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2018).

This grant is part of $200 million loan that will be provided to EESL by ADB. Mercom previously reported that ADB will provide a $200 million (~₹13 billion) loan to finance energy efficient lights and water pumps in India. The $200 million loan is from ADB’s ordinary capital resources (OCR) and will have a 20-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, at an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s London interbank offered rate (LIBOR)-based lending facility.

The funds received will be provided to EESL which it will utilize to make loans available for installing light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights by municipalities and LED bulbs, tube lights, and electric fans by households and institutions, and for installing energy-efficient water pumps.

“The ADB funding is helping EESL finance energy service utilities for installing established energy-efficient technologies such as light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights with municipalities, while exploring newer technologies and their self-sustaining business models. The existing loan aims to achieve energy savings of around 3,800 gigawatt-hours annually,” said ADB Country Director for India Kenichi Yokoyama, who signed the grant agreement for ADB.

“The additional financing for the project through GEF grant will be used by EESL for making investments in new and emerging technologies including trigeneration, efficient motors and air-conditioners, smart meters/grids, and associated new business models to expand the use of such innovations, as well as to set up an energy efficiency revolving fund,” said EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar after signing the agreement.

Promotion of more efficient technologies through additional financing will result in lesser electricity bills and reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions. This will support the overall objective of the project that is aligned with the goals of the Government of India’s National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and aims to expand the market for energy-efficient technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Recently, ADB completed the pilot phase of its satellite-based smart meter project in a village in Varanasi in which 5,000 households received the meters.

Image credit: ADB