With the mission to lay the foundation for ‘Zero Tolerance’ towards electrical accidents and energy conservation, International Copper Association India (ICA India) organized a National seminar on Electrical Safety & Energy Conservation in Buildings last evening in Kolkata. The seminar was conducted in association with Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) at The Lalit Great Eastern.
The seminar aimed to educate and create a culture of safe and sustainable use of electricity amongst the public at large by sensitizing all stakeholders about the present challenges, cutting-edge technology and best technical practices available across the globe. Rabi Choudhury, MD Generation, CESC was the special guest at the seminar along with A K Thakur, Director, CEA who was the keynote speaker. The seminar started with an inaugural address by Prabir Mukhopadhyay, Member Secretary, DVC, followed by an address up by Kashmir Lal Mallik, President IE, Kolkata.
Speaking to the delegates, Amol Kalsekar, Chief Manager, Building Wire, ICA India gave the welcome speech on generating awareness regarding electrical hazards being an imminent need in reducing the staggering number of electrical accidents every year. Elaborating on the subject he said, “We at ICA India strive to empower people with knowledge to overcome electrical hazards through our campaigns and initiatives on electrical safety. We aim to teach not only the electricians and the stakeholders but also the consumers who deal with electricity on an everyday basis and thus are on a risk of electrical accidents. With seminars like these, we aim to propagate the need to create awareness on the necessity for electrical safety in India.”
“ICA India believes that raising awareness of electrical hazards is the key to reducing electrical fires, injuries, death, and property loss at homes and commercial buildings”, he added.
The seminar witnessed participation from delegates associated with state electrical safety implementation bodies like Chief Electrical Inspectorates, State Public Works Department, Central Public Works Department, also experts from Distribution utilities of Central, State and Private sectors under one roof.
The key focal points during the seminar were the analysis of electrical accidents along with the issues and challenges hindering the protection against electric shocks. In addition to this, electrical safety in high-rise buildings and smart connected power distribution were discussed as well. The seminar also put a light on the lightning protection and earthing in buildings as per IEC 62350 & NBC 2016, good practices ECBC (Chapter 7) compliant in buildings and periodic inspection of electrical installations.
The government of India has committed to reducing emission intensity of national GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level. For achieving these targets, it is crucial to transform the building sector to the most advanced standards of energy efficiency like zero energy building. The government of India has accorded high importance to electrical safety and energy conservation, but there is a gap in terms of poor industry practices, improper or weak installations design, using undersized and inferior quality of wires and electrical equipment.
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