At an EETD seminar, on June 22, Dr. Kumar provided an inside perspective on the energy efficiency opportunities and challenges faced by Indian public and private sector organizations as the country gears up to add 500 MW each week for the next 25 years. The presentation focused on state energy conservation policies as the Indian Government makes a concerted effort to develop the capacity to administer and manage energy efficiency programs at the state level. Dr. Kumar also provided an introduction to and discussion of the salient features of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) which was launched by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency last month.

Dr. Kumar is the Chief of Party of the USAID's ECO-III project. In this capacity, he is heading a team of about 30 staff, consultants, and sub-contractors working on various activities under the ECO-III project. He has been instrumental in setting up IRG's ECO-III project office in New Delhi, mobilizing the ECO-III project team, working on developing an implementation plan in close collaboration with USAID and Bureau of Energy Efficiency and signing Memorandum of Understanding with Punjab and Gujarat Energy Development Agency. He is working very closely with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and the state energy agencies in developing energy conservation action plan and implementing energy efficiency projects in the buildings and small and medium enterprises. Prior to joining IRG, Dr. Kumar had worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Research Laboratory for 10 years where he led the development of International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol and played a pivotal role in the quality assurance and improvement of Federal Energy Management Program's Energy Savings Performance Contracting program. Dr. Kumar has a Ph.D. In Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and is a Certified LEED Accredited Professional, Certified Energy Manager, and Certified M&V Professional.