VIJAYAWADA: With the State taking proactive steps in energy efficiency initiatives, Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a company under the Ministry of Power, is likely to invest Rs 450 crore in Andhra Pradesh for implementation of Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) that is expected to reduce the burden of electricity bill by Rs 600 to Rs 700 per annum per rural household.
The AP State Energy Conservation Mission (APSECM) said around 4.4 crore LED bulbs will be given to about 81.5 lakh rural households. Each eligible household will be given 7 watt and 12 watt LED bulbs with three years warranty at Rs 10 each on submission of working incandescent bulbs of 60 watt and 100 watt. As per UJALA, one consumer can exchange a maximum of five bulbs.
The LED bulbs consume 88 per cent less electricity compared to incandescent ones and can help achieve 59 kWh of energy saving per month per household (considering 5 LED bulbs per household), according to official information. “Rural households will be able to reduce their electricity bill to the tune of Rs 600 to Rs 700 per annum. This programme will also help the AP power sector reduce a peak demand of 1,144 MW, thus benefiting rural consumers as well as Discoms,” the APSECM said in a statement on Wednesday.
AP will be the third State in the country after Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where the project is set for implementation with the support from the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (PR&RD) Department and in coordination with the AP State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation (APSEEDCO). Maharashtra and Gujarat are the two other States among the five selected for implementation of UJALA.
CESL Managing Director Mahua Acharya recently met PR&RD Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy and urged him to finalise the date and venue for launching the initiative. She informed him that formalities for launching the programme in terms of UN-based Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) protocols were completed. According to a sample survey, each rural household uses 5 inefficient incandescent bulbs (ICLs).
The minister said the novel programme will not cause any financial burden to the State exchequer. Each 7 Watt LED bulb costs Rs 70 and 12 Watt bulb Rs 120. “We will implement UJALA in villages and take the assistance of volunteers for its success,” he said.The CESL recently reached the milestone of distributing 10 lakh LED bulbs to rural households in Bihar and UP.