VIJAYAWADA: Aiming at effective maintenance of LED street lights across the state, the state government has asked officials concerned to establish a rapid response mechanism (RRM) to respond in a timely, coordinated and standardised manner to the complaints of people or gram panchayats regarding repair and maintenance of the street lights. The verification committee, appointed by the government to examine the grievance redressal system, will hold its first meeting on Monday.
According to a statement from the Andhra Pradesh State Energy Conservation Mission (APSECM) on Sunday, the committee comprises members from Panchayat Raj department, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), AP Discoms and AP State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation (APSEEDCO). The statement quoted Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy saying the government was keen on effective maintenance of LED street lights and 100 per cent glowing of lights in villages. The minister added the committee should fully concentrate on a rapid response mechanism to put the LED street light programme on track and improve their repair and maintenance in gram panchayats of 13 districts. He emphasised the need for restoring the non-glowing lights within 72 hours.
The officials informed the minister that measures had been taken to put in place a web portal with a transparent mechanism for redressal of such complaints. Till date, around 25.04 lakh LED street lights have been installed in panchayats, of which 1.5 lakh were set up by the NREDCAP and 23.54 lakh by the EESL.
Steps are being taken to install another 3 to 5 lakh lights in uncovered areas and newly extended colonies of gram panchayaths. The installation of LED lights in villages is estimated to save 260 million units of power, apart from monetary savings of around Rs 156 crore per year.
Retail supply tariff order release today
Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy, along with members P Raghu and P Rammohan, will release the retail supply tariff order for power for the year 2020-21, on Monday. The announcement will be made at 11 am in Hyderabad. It may be recalled that the State power utilities, in December last, proposed no hike to the tariff for domestic users and also largely left consumers of other categories untouched. The APERC held public hearings last month to elicit suggestions/views/objections of the stakeholders. After considering them, the commission is set to officially announce the tariff on Monday.