Textile industry, like any other industry, has been grappling with the problem of energy crisis for a long time. But slowly, this may snowball into a major crisis and at a time when the Government is pinning high hopes on textile industry as a driver of economic growth, such a situation is not desirable. India currently generates 4.5% of global electricity but experiences peak demand shortage of 9%. The country has a low capital energy consumption of 879 kWh. Energy cost increase is happening at the rate of 10% per annum. Additional risk is more the energy use, greater the pollution. In 1980, energy constituted 3% of yarn selling cost. But today it is 12% to 13%. Energy consumption in a modern mill is: Pre-spinning 20%, ring spinning 50%, autoconer 10%, humidification 12%, compressor 6% and so on. Energy management at this stage is very vital, and here comes the importance of energy audit. Three top operating expenses of a mill are energy (both electrical and thermal), labour and materials. Energy audit identifies the areas where inefficiency and wastage occurs.
Energy audit provides a bench-marking for managing energy in the organization. Japan has improved their energy efficiency by more than 30% since 1973 through this route. It has tripled its industrial output since 1973 but has kept the energy consumption roughly flat. This is just the opposite of what is happening in India. According to an energy audit study, 1 kW saving of power in a mill will amount to Rs 55,000 per annum, and a 25% saving of energy in compressor consumption will save Rs 12.5 lakh per annum in a 25,000-spindle unit. In our country, massive investment in energy sector is required to deliver a sustained GDP growth rate of 8.0% till the year 2031- 2032. This will be an uphill task and hence mills should think of serious steps, however basic they may be in the initial stage, to reduce consumption