‘Greening the time’ can help India achieve its climate goals

What does it mean to ‘green the time’?

Basically, it means taking advantage of time or time differences to cleverly advance climate objectives. There are many options and strategies that can be deployed.

First, timing can be a tool to optimize power consumption by taking advantage of India’s vast geography. From Arunachal Pradesh to Rajasthan, India stretches for about 3,000 km from east to west. This means that the sun rises about two hours earlier in the eastern part. The whole country at the same time has a twin loss – unnecessary power consumption and low productivity.

Therefore it is important to consider multiple time zones for India, perhaps starting with two to keep things simple. We can get the time of Kolkata and the time of New Delhi, with a difference of one hour. The Kolkata time zone may include the north-eastern states, Bihar, Jharkhand and all the states in the east including Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Rest of India may follow New Delhi timings.

The idea of ​​multiple time zones is not new. Actually, there were three time zones in India during the British rule. More recently, several government officials and committees have analyzed this in some detail. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) estimated a savings of 2.7 billion units of electricity in 2011, representing more than 3 percentage points of total consumption. Since the NPL study focused only on the North Eastern states, it is likely that the savings would be higher if the East Coast states were also included.

Around the world, readjusting clocks is practiced in many countries such as the US, Canada, Russia, Brazil and Australia in order to save power and increase productivity. A 2017 meta-analysis of 44 studies found that approximately 1% of electricity is saved during periods when daylight saving time (DST) is in force.

However, the concept of separate time zones for India has been criticized as impractical and politically divisive. We believe that these criticisms may not be relevant in the present day. As the above list shows, many countries are functioning smoothly without practical difficulties.

Moreover, given the advancement in technology and blended work culture, Indians nowadays support clients seamlessly and manage teams across different time zones. Undoubtedly, a communication strategy highlighting the benefits, like the strategy used for the Swachh Bharat Mission, can help mobilize the masses for larger national and environmental objectives.

Based on experience and evidence, we may move to three or four areas sometime in the future. Such zoning would match the motion of the Sun even more closely. We also need to adjust the time in winter, when the sun rises late. The one-hour adjustment, starting in October and ending in March, will help optimize productivity and energy consumption.

The flip side of ‘time to green’ is that the cost of electricity varies with time. A kilowatt of electricity demanded during the afternoon has a significantly lower carbon footprint and cost than a kilowatt in the late evening. Similarly, the cost of one kWh during monsoon is not the same as one kWh in peak winter.

The difference in cost can be substantial. This difference is reflected in the spot prices of electricity. For example, in 2023, prices will peak during the evening 2.75 per kWh more than the daytime price – a difference of over 62%. Therefore, tariffs need to reflect the cost of generating and transmitting electricity at different times. Some states have introduced green tariffs as a voluntary offer and day-time limited tariffs for certain customer categories. While we appreciate this effort, the systematic introduction of time-bound tariffs for all categories based on cost differentials is relevant and necessary from a climate and economic perspective.

At a macroeconomic level, the role of interest rates as a tool to optimize consumption over time cannot be overemphasized. While India needs to grow rapidly to generate new livelihoods and increase income, we need to develop sustainably to ensure that natural resources are optimally utilised. In this context, it is important to optimize consumption through monetary and fiscal policy in the medium to long term.

India’s energy transformation has ranked solar as a top priority. Although this makes economic sense, given that India receives abundant sunlight 300 days a year, it has the disadvantage that it is only available during the day. Different time zones enable us to plan work activities when energy is abundant and cheap. Such an approach would indeed complement the goal of Prime Minister’s Mission LiFE: energy efficiency from all angles.

Dr. Gaurav Bhatiani is Director, Energy and Environment, RTI International India, and Dr. Sanjib Pohit is Professor at NCAER.

UPDATE: July 23, 2023, 02:51 PM IST