Here’s how the government is saving Rs 2.71 crore every day

With an aim to reduce power consumption, increase domestic savings and cut down carbon emission, the Indian government had recently initiated the LED distribution programme. The program, primarily, demands the replacement of incandescent bulbs and CFLs with energy-efficient LED lamps.

This pilot project, which was introduced in Andhra Pradesh in April 2014, was extended to other states – Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh – in January this year.

After distributing over two crore LED bulbs, the Ministry of Power has now acknowledged the positive result it has started receiving from the initiative.

Saurabh Kumar, managing director of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a PSU under the pPower Ministry, says, "Today, almost 90% of all households in AP and Puducherryhave replaced incandescent bulbs with LED lamps and the electricity bills of a household have reduced by up to Rs 200 every month."

This project is helping the government to save 68 lakhkilowatts of energy every day. Wondering how? Well, this includes a cut in 645 megawatts of power during peak hours, a 5,520-tonne drop in daily carbon emission and domestic savings of Rs 2.71 crore every day, reported The Economic Times.

Quoting another purpose of the project, Kumar says, "The purpose of this project is to replace 77 crore regular bulbs and 40 crore CFLs (bought by Indians every year) with more energy efficient LED lamps."

He further adds that the poor will also be able to make significant savings as the government is providing these LED lamps at a very lower price. Financed by the consumers themselves, the project is run under two major parts – on bill EMI and direct purchase.

1. Under the first model, the user will have to pay Rs 105 for one LED bulb across 10 months, which is added to the monthly power bill.

2. The second plan allows the consumer to buy bulbs in one go — every consumer is entitled for four LED bulbs — by paying Rs 100 apiece. Notably, all the bulbs come with a three-year replacement warranty.
Image: thinkstosk