Electricity is an integral part of the modern lifestyle.  We are completely dependent on uninterrupted power supply to power our gadgets, appliances, healthcare, education, you name it and that requires electricity. The basic requirements for human survival used to be food, clothing and shelter but today electricity and internet have been added to that survival list. Our everyday life is powered by electricity. Imagine the few hours that the local power grid has a shut down – the effect is restlessness, stress, anxiety, worry and the moment the power is restored the first sound is  “Ah”, a big sigh of relief.

From a surgeon in the operation theatre, to an engineer in a factory, to a motor-mechanic in the garage, to an officer in a company, to passengers ona railway platform, all are enjoying the interrupted service rendered by electricity. Modern transportation nowadays is moving towards electrical energy. All these just imply that the demand for electrical energy is increasing but there is gap between supply and demand. While the demand is high,and supply is less; there will exist problems leading to all forms of imbalance.If we want to bridge this gap,we need to increase generationof electricity which requires lot of capital investment and could possibly have negative environmental impact.

Though extensive research is being conducted in the fields of alternative energy sources, we are largely dependent on natural resources to cater to the existing demand.  It is not difficult to comprehend that the natural resources are limited, and we will run out of them eventually and it is does not require one to be a rocket scientist to realize that we need to conserve our resources; and we need to do it NOW. We should all ensure that we use our resources wisely and stop all forms of wastages. If we become careless about that, then we are most definitely looking at regular and prolonged load-shedding. Leaving the lights and fans on during the day will only keep us in the dark at nights. It’s time we all cared about the environment.

Recently our Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out to the entire nation to switch off lights for nine minutes on April 5,2020.  Though the essential services like public utilities, municipal services, offices, police stations, manufacturing facilities were asked to continue, approximately, 15-16 GW energy demand reduced in a span of 9 minutes.A small change can make big difference. Individually, we cannot generate electricity, but individually, we can save it.

The author of this blog article is Amit Kasar, Assistant Professor,Department of Engineering Sciences, Hope Foundation’s International Institute of Information Technology, (I²IT), Pune (www.isquareit.edu.in) (amitk@isquareit.edu.in)

Amit Kasar
Engineering Science Department