Don’t be surprised if a 12-year-old reprimands you for not switching off the TV or keeping the AC on for long.
Students are turning into energy champions; over 400 schools in India, including 200 in Mumbai, have saved 3,300 tonnes of CO2, which is enough to light 1,496 houses for a year, as part of a Tata Power Club Enerji campaign.
Thousands of mini-clubs are operating in the city run by schoolchildren to stop wastage of electricity. Students have sensitised around 3 million Mumbaikars, encouraging parents, neighbours and friends to reduce wastage of energy. They have saved up to 3.2 million units of electricity over the last three years in Mumbai.
Shaili Parikh from Ryan International School, Kandivli, who has been working in the Tata club for nearly two years, says she has encouraged her friends and family to make small efforts, such as turning off or repairing leaking taps, switching off the TV at night by using timer system, reducing use of light during the day and other measures.
“I taught my family to use the air-conditioner minimally so that it consumes less energy. This can be done by setting the AC at a temperature which cools the room but doesn’t freeze it. Doing this has reduced our electricity bills considerably,” she said.
Like Parikh, there are more than 66,150 energy champions and 98,647 energy ambassadors in the country who are spreading the message of energy conservation.
Leafia Dias, 13, a student of St Lawrence School, says she has saved electricity in her house by turning off lights and fans whenever not in use, even if for five minutes, and also by turning off the main switches and not just the electrical appliance.
“Most people simply turn off the TV with the remote control. They don’t bother to turn off the main switch. It’s important to switch that off as electricity is still being consumed otherwise,” she said.
Students are also participating in events, such as rallies, quizzes and competitions. They are making paper bags as well, which are distributed to hawkers in their neighbourhoods.
