ECBC Nod Mandatory for Commercial Buildings in AP

In a move aimed at increasing energy efficiency even in the private sector, the State government has issued an order making Andhra Pradesh Energy Conservation Building Code (APECBC) mandatory to get building approvals for commercial and non-residential buildings with a plot area of 1,000 square meters or built up area of 2,000 square meters. Andhra Pradesh is the third State in the country to have issued an order making ECBC compliance mandatory, the officials said and added that special emphasis was being laid for its implementation through the Development Permission Management System (DPMS) The municipal administration and urban development department has already integrated ECBC compliance with the DPMS system. “The MAUD department has issued recently-made amendments to the AP Building rules-2017 and made APECBC compliance mandatory for commercial buildings. In coordination with MAUD department and Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the state energy department has empanelled 34 Third Party Assessors (TPAs) to check the ECBC compliance at design and occupancy stages in all the new and upcoming commercial buildings across the State,” a statement from the energy department said. The BEE has introduced the ECBC in commercial and non-residential buildings with an objective to ensure construction of energy efficient buildings for reducing energy usage by 30- 40 per cent.