India’s launch of a program that is expected to create a $3 billion-a-year market for companies to trade energy-savings credits will be delayed by at least a month, a government official said.
The country was scheduled to assign targets starting today to some of the nation’s most energy-intensive industries to reduce the amount of power they consume. The aim is to lower fuel consumption in Asia’s second-biggest energy consumer.
The program is still awaiting approval from the power ministry, said Saurabh Diddi, energy economist at the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which is overseeing the program.
“It may take another month,” he said by telephone.
Trading of the new credits is expected to create a market worth $3 billion annually, Baman K. Mehta, chief executive of Darashaw & Company Pvt., a Mumbai-based investment bank, said on Nov. 24.
Companies that exceed their efficiency targets will earn credits that they can sell to companies failing to meet the goals. Trading will commence about six to 12 months after targets are assigned, Ajay Mathur, the bureau’s director, said in January.
The program allows 563 businesses to trade energy-savings credits, including some of India’s biggest industrial companies, Reliance Industries Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd.
