AP Saves 421 Million Unit Power Using LED Bulbs: Survey

VIJAYAWADA, February 21: Andhra Pradesh saved about 421mn unit of power last year thanks to a major push given by the state government to use of LED bulbs in four of the 13 districts, an independent survey has revealed. The state government distributed 57.03 lakh LED bulbs (two nine Watt bulbs per house) in Anantapuram, Guntur, West Godavari and Srikakulam districts, while overall 1.75 crore bulbs were distributed so far in all the 13 districts as against the target of 1.87 crore. A study conducted by Andhra University and Engineering Staff College of India - covering 57,667 households in the four districts - reveal that 421 million unit of power could be saved in one year because of the use of LED bulbs. The actual energy saving per bulb has been 73.7 unit on an average, as against the projected 55.65 units. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal would formally release the study at a function in Nellore on February 27 in the presence of Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. A release from the AP State Energy Conversation Mission (SECM) quoted Energy Secretary Ajay Jain as saying the state government has now decided to cover 100 per cent households in the state under the LED bulb distribution programme. Under the scheme two bulbs (of nine Watts) would be given at a subsidised price of Rs 10 each. The two power distribution companies have submitted proposals to the government for additional 57 lakh LED bulbs to cover 100 per cent households. With this, the total number of LED bulbs goes up to 2.44 crore, SECM chief executive officer A Chandrasekhar Reddy said. Once the distribution is complete the state would save a whopping 1,806 million unit annually. "We hope to complete the distribution by March 2016," Chandrasekhar Reddy added. He said the Chief Minister directed the SECM to set up LED bulb replacement and service centres in all 175 Assembly constituencies to sustain the energy conservation measures. The Chief Minister also wanted the energy department to facilitate use of five-star rated home appliances that would enable further saving of electricity by upto 40 per cent. -PTI