THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has launched the 'filament free state' project to bring in affordable LED bulbs in all households in Kerala. The state government is hoping to save 100-150 megawatts of power through this. The CM said the KSEB's expenses towards power purchase will also come down.
"LED bulbs having three years warranty will be given to consumers at an affordable price of Rs 65 when the actual price is Rs 100. If the LED bulbs become faulty during the warranty period, it will be replaced. The price of the LED bulbs can be paid in a lump sum or in instalments along with the power bill," said Pinarayi Vijayan.
Consumers who have registered on the KSEB's web portal will be given the LED bulbs. Currently, 17 lakh consumers have registered to avail the bulbs at subsidized rates. One crore LED bulbs will now be distributed among consumers. The Chief Minister urged everyone to be part of the eco-friendly scheme that has been envisaged by KSEB and Energy Management Centre. The filament bulbs being collected by the KSEB will be given to Clean Kerala Company which would be scientifically disposed of. Pinarayi also said the 'filament free state' project has been implemented to address global warming.
The "Nilavu" project which envisages street lights being completely changed to LED bulbs has also been launched by the Chief Minister.
"Out of 16 lakh street lights, 5.5 lakh have been changed to LED bulbs. The remaining 10.5 lakh LED bulbs will soon be changed where the first stage will see 5.5 lakh street lights and the rest will be completed in the second stage. Over the last 4.5 years, the state government has made great strides in the power sector in the production-transmission-distribution network, which explains how the state could achieve national energy protection award four years in a row," added Pinarayi Vijayan.