In the wake of intermittent power cuts, the Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust is now urging all pharmacy outlets to run their business on solar energy. The effort will help the drug outlets in Delhi run their business smoothly. The most critical issue of power cuts for the pharmacy outlets is the inability to maintain the right temperature of the drugs stored in the refrigerators and freezers.

Chemists can use solar energy based power for lighting, to run fans, refrigerators-cold storage freezers for storing drugs, vaccines, illumination of pharmacy sign boards, operating computers, printers and billing machines, among others.

In order to decrease the dependence on electricity, the government has gone ahead to offer extensive concessions to those business establishments including pharmacy outlets for use of alternate source of energy. Therefore efforts should be made by chemists to utilize the subsidy programmes, stated Jagat S Jawa, resident secretary, Solar Energy Society of India.

The Drugs & Cosmetics Act also addresses need for proper storage according to temperature conditions to ensure the potency of the drug is maintained and prevent deterioration. As part of the Good Pharmacy Practices, Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust during its continuing education programmes highlighted the cost advantage in solar power installations along with an overview of the models based on different technology like conversion of sunlight to electricity which is both safe and cost-effective in operating refrigerators and freezers to store medicines that required cold temperature conditions.

Acute power shortage, load shedding, erratic supply has been seriously affecting the operations of pharmacy outlets, stated Arun Mishra, GM of Maharishi Solar Energy P Ltd.

Since the urban areas are reporting only a few hours of supply where the voltage was too low to charge the UPS batteries, the Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust is now making efforts to help the pharmacy outlets to be linked with the government for solar power utilities, stated Dr. DBA Narayana, Managing Trustee, Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust.

If pharmacists come forward to invest and exploit the sunlight by installing solar power devices to run their outlets they would be able to overcome power problems. Using a renewable, non-polluting, and eco-friendly source of power would be part green energy initiatives, he added.