Is Odisha following Centre's 24°C AC temperature guideline?

Bhubaneswar: After the Centre's recommendation of keeping the default setting of Air Conditioners (AC) at 24 degrees centigrade to save energy, Odisha government also released an advisory in line with the guidelines.

"AC usage is 30-40 per cent of the entire electricity consumption. Even one per cent of increase in the AC temperature, consumes nearly 6 per cent more electricity. Hence, by maintaining 24°C temperature, a lot of energy could be saved," said Santosh Das, Chief Engineer of Odisha Electricity Department.

Though it is for voluntary adoption as of now, Odisha government ensured that in every government offices posters should be put up to create awareness and encourage the employees to adopt the guidelines. However, in a reality check by OTV, it was found that the new initiative has failed to garner interest among the staff in several government offices.

Speaking on the same, president of State secretariat service association, Krushna Prasad Mohapatra said that the government needs to take some more measures to create awareness among people. "There's a need of awareness and the government should take more steps," said Mohapatra.

"Issuing circulars won't increase the State's energy efficiency; an intent is needed, which Odisha lacks," said Ramesh Chandra Satpathy, president of electricity consumers association.

Besides, it is worth mentioning that putting the AC temperature at around 21 or 18°C adversely affects health. "24°C is the normal temperature. If temperature is decreased more, it does more harm to body and results in problems like indigestion, decline in metabolism rate, throat related issues," said Dr Niranjan Sethy, superintendent of Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, this move of the government has been praised by people from all walks of life.