The Railways intends to reduce its energy bill to the tune of over Rs 34,000 crore annually, by Rs 5,000 crore in five years through a comprehensive plan, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Friday. “The energy bill is the second largest in railways after salary and pension. So we have to use the energy in a such a way so as to optimise the cost,” he said.
While the diesel bill is about Rs 22,000 crore, the electricity cost is about Rs 12,500 crore a year in railways.
Prabhu said, “We have to focus on energy efficiency as it is very important. The need is to use less energy with more efficiency.” He added, “We have to make a roadmap so that railways can reduce the energy bill by Rs 5,000 crore in the next five years.”