2 Lakh Smart Agri Pump Sets To Be Distributed in AP

VIJAYAWADA, April 7: Pushing the energy conservation programme in the country, the EESL launched the National Energy-Efficient Agricultural Pumps and Fan schemes here today and plans to distribute two lakh such pump sets in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched the programme and distributed energy efficient fans and agricultural pump sets to a few customers. The five-star rated agricultural pump sets are fitted with a smart control panel, SIM card and a smart meter and can be operated remotely. Using these pumps will result in an energy saving of 30 per cent and save a whopping Rs 20,000 crore (nation-wide) in the form of subsidies to the government in the next three years, according to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) chairman Rajiv Sharma. "We will distribute two lakh energy efficient pump sets in Andhra Pradesh. AP alone can save Rs 1,200 crore through this programme," he said. He agreed to the chief minister's suggestion to replace all the existing 1.5 million agricultural pump sets in the state with the energy efficient smart pumps. The energy efficient fans would help save 30 watts of power per fan. Two such fans would be provided to each consumer at an EMI of Rs 60 per month. The consumer might also purchase the fan by paying Rs 1,250 per fan upfront. The EESL chief, who is also CMD of Rural Electrification Corporation, said a Rs 6,000 crore loan has been sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh for providing energy-efficient power systems in the new Capital Amaravati. Earlier, inaugurating a two-day international conference on energy efficient lighting systems, the Chief Minister said all 2.2 crore street lights in the state would be replaced with power-saving LED bulbs in the next six months. "We have successfully implemented this programme in Visakhapatnam city, post the devastating cyclone Hudhud in 2014. We will now expand it to all urban and rural local bodies in the state," he added. Naidu said AP's new capital Amaravati would not only be a green and blue capital but also a green energy capital with a smart energy grid. -PTI