Following are major concerns why India drastically needs a national movement on petroleum conservation in order to promote fuel efficiency in each sector of the economy:

• World 8 years away from being a living hell – IPCC report
• 450 MMT out of 1100 MMT of CO2 emissions in India from fossil fuels (POL).
• India 5th largest emitter of CO2 in the world after USA (5800MT), China (4732 MT), Russia (1529 MT) & Japan (1215 MT).
• Growth of consumption of petroleum products in the Xth Plan was 2.6% annually, when the economy is growing at 8% per annum.
• Projected growth rate of petroleum products for India is 2.4% per annum till 2030.
• Efforts mostly on supply side management (SSM) i.e. NELP, acquisition of assets abroad, JVs with leading oil majors for setting up refineries etc.
• Cost of demand side management is a fraction as compared to SSM
• DSM reduces CO2 emissions
• Most developed and emerging nations heavily into DSM
• Good DSM will ensure that India emerges as an environmentally responsible super power.
• China targeting for 20% reduction between 2006 and 2010!!
• Energy Policy for Europe(EPE)2007 :20% reduction in energy consumption by 2020.
• Japan - 9.2 times more energy efficient per $1000 of GDP compared to India.
• Energy consumption levels today in Industrial sector in Japan is same as 1973 levels!!!
• India consumes petroleum products worth Rs 4 lakh Crores per annum !!!
• A 2 - 2.5 % conservation would result into a saving of Rs. 8000 - 10000 crores per year !!!
• With concerted conservation efforts, India can achieve 8% GDP growth rate which could be almost POL neutral !!!
  

PCRA’s prime objective is to promote efficient utilization of petroleum products in India. On an average, the consumption pattern of petroleum products in India is as follows:

• Transport (Petrol, Diesel, CNG, Aviation Fuel) : 51%
• Industry (Petrol, Diesel, Fuel Oil, Naphtha, Natural Gas): 14%
• Commercial & Others : 13%
• Domestic (LPG & Kerosene): 18%
• Agriculture (Diesel): 4%

Outlines of the Campaign

• PCRA should engage one of the country’s highly experienced and reputed advertising agencies to design and execute the job.
• The campaign will be focused at motivating the users through emotional retina.
• Conceptually, PCRA campaign is to be centered on the children and youth who in turn would motivate their parents towards petroleum conservation. Children and youth are the common factor who can bind users of petroleum products across sectors, be it personal vehicle, truck, bus, industry, commercial establishment, household or farmer, hence the campaign would be targeted towards them as the main focus.
• The first campaign could read like “Save Petroleum to save India” from environmental point of view, imbibing a strong feeling in the minds of each child to motivate respective parents towards petroleum conservation.
• A generic campaign on petroleum conservation would be launched simultaneously targeting the parents on the themes like “Save Petroleum to save your child’s future”.
• Once the generic campaigns are launched and are visible, sector specific campaigns will be launched i.e. targeting the industrial units, transport users, housewives using LPG, farmers using pump sets etc.
• The services of a Brand Ambassador for PCRA campaign would be used extensively.
• A National Theme Song on conservation is to be developed by one of the best music directors of the country.

Transport Sector

• Delhi alone burns petrol/diesel worth Rs. 994 Crores per annum at traffic red lights
• Switch off your engine beyond 15 seconds at traffic red lights to reduce your petrol bill
• Drive your car at 45 KMPH and save petrol up to 15% against driving at 65 KMPH
• If you drive your car at 80 KMPH, you burn 30% more petrol Correct tyre pressure can save up to 10% petrol
• Maximize use of 5th gear to get better mileage
• Drive in correct gear always for fuel efficiency – incorrect gear driving can lead you 20% increase in fuel consumption
• Keep your engine healthy by regular tuning – it saves you 6% fuel
• Clean your air filter regularly – dust causes rapid wear of engine components and increases fuel consumption
• Avoid frequent apply of Brakes. “stop-and-go” driving wastes fuel. Save fuel by anticipating stops and adjusting your speed accordingly
• Riding the clutch damages clutch linings and causes loss of energy. Keep your foot off the clutch and save fuel
• Don’t wait for your car engine to warm up. Drive in low gear till the engine warms up and save fuel
• Share your car for car pool. It considerably reduces your monthly fuel bill
• Even though a slightly longer route, you get more mileage per liter if you take a less congested route
• Judicious use of car Air Conditioner can result in considerable fuel saving. You burn 20% more fuel when AC is in use
• Unnecessary loads increase fuel consumption. A reduction in weight increases fuel efficiency.
• Check the car manual and oil manufacturer’s recommendations before using any particular grade of oil. Use recommended grade of engine oil.

Industrial Sector

• Undertake regular energy audit to reduce your energy bill
• Leakage of one drop of oil per second amounts to a loss over 200 liters of oil every year – Carry out energy audit in your industry
• Incomplete combustion leads to wastage of fuel – Carry out energy audit to identify wastage
• Recover and utilize waste heat from furnace flue gases for preheating of combustion of air – Carry out energy audit in your industry
• Reduce heat losses through furnace openings – Carry out energy audit in your industry
• Recover heat from steam condensate – Carry out energy audit in your industry
• Improve boiler efficiency by checking radiation loss, incomplete combustion, blow down loss, excess air and save up to 20% fuel – Carry out energy audit in your industry
• Maintain steam pipe insulation to save considerable amount of fuel – Carry out energy audit in your industry

Commercial Sector

• Carry out energy audit in big buildings to reduce electricity consumption. You can reduce your energy bill up to 35% by auditing energy consumption in your building
• PCRA has already carried out prestigious energy audits in Govt. Buildings, viz. North Block, South Block, Shastri Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi.

Domestic Sector

• A few minutes of planning ensures a big fuel saving.
• Pressure cooking saves fuel.
• Use optimum quantity of water in cooking to save fuel.
• Reduce the flame when boiling starts.
• Soak before cooking.
• Shallow, wide vessels save fuel.
• Put the lid to prevent heat losses and save fuel.
• Use of the small burner saves LPG.
• A clean burner helps save LPG.
• Allow frozen food to reach room temperature before cooking and save LPG.
• Plan your meal timings and save LPG or electricity on reheating food.
• Use Nutan Deep Kerosene Lamp that saves 50% kerosene in comparison to the conventional bottle and flick kerosene lamp.

Agriculture Sector

• For Irrigation Pump set, low friction ISI marked foot valve can save up to 10% diesel consumption
• Bigger diameter rigid PVC Pipeline saves considerable amount of diesel in pump irrigation system
• Pipeline arrangement in Pump Irrigation system should not involve bends to save diesel and sharp bends should be avoided
• Know your Tractor and stop diesel leakage
• Turn your engine off when you stop your Tractor
• Drive your Tractor in correct gear …… always
• Does your Tractor smoke? It means it wastes diesel
• Dirt – your engine’s worst enemy… clean engine regularly
• Match hauling capacity with load
• Plan your field run