THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second round of validation process for getting carbon credits for the Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) initiative is set to begin shortly in the state even as the KSEB has run into trouble with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for faulty planning in the distribution of the lamps.
In its report for the year ended March 31, 2011, the CAG found that, of the 1.44 crore lamps purchased, the KSEB was left with 16.02 lakh undistributed ones.
The CAG has also found that the KSEB has so far been unable to recoup a loan of Rs 51.50 crore given to the Energy Management Centre (EMC) for implementing the Centre’s Bachat Lamp Yojana (BLY) scheme in the state for the distribution of said CFLs.
A flagship energy conservation project of the previous LDF Government, the CFL campaign saw 75 lakh homes replacing incandescent lamps with energy-efficient CFLs. The government claimed to have saved around 250-300 MW a day through the campaign.
The CAG noted that ‘inappropriate staggered delivery resulted in a huge stock of 16.02 lakh CFLs remaining undistributed.’
In September 2011, the KSEB stated that the plan was to distribute the lamps within three to four months. The CAG has not bought this justification, saying better planning should been done on the distribution side.
Recently, the KSEB had announced that the remaining lamps would be issued to government offices and KSEB offices for replacing incandescent lamps and also to the general public for replacing faulty CFLs.
On the loan given to EMC, the CAG noted that its repayment was critically dependent on EMC’s ability to earn carbon credits under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As of November 2011, the EMC has not been able to get carbon credits. Also, though the BLY scheme was closed in August 2010, the same was registered under UNFCCC only in May 2011, the CAG noted.
When contacted, EMC director K M Dhareshan Unnithan said that the first round of validation for the carbon credit process had been completed in Kerala. The second round validation was in the tendering stage.