Street lighting in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug 1: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with an international consultancy firm to reduce its power bill through using energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) lighting system.

The corporation’s council has given its nod to the proposal. But the move has invited sharp criticism as some experts have spoken out against the plan. Those who have criticised the plan said that the civic body should follow models adopted by other Indian cities where the street lighting system has remarkably reduced power bills.

“While the instances are there and they are proven in Indian conditions, there is no point in employing a consultant from outside. Vadodara Municipal Corporation has already adopted the IS-1944 (a coded standard) in street lighting and achieved awards for energy efficiency in street lighting from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for the years 2008 and 2010. We can adopt the model as the BEE sets the hallmark of energy efficiency in India,’’ said Piyushranjan Rout, a city-based urban management practitioner.

“In fact, the engineers of the urban local bodies still use the conventional ways ignoring the total light output emitted by a light source (luminous flux) and illuminance of a surface being lit (lux). Through effective design and procuring energy efficient materials, a saving potential of 10 to 30 per cent can be created. However, with implementation of a streetlight installation policy according to road-based lighting requirements as prescribed under IS-1944, the saving potential can be 20 to 80 per cent. All the above savings can be made possible without any additional investment,’’ said Rout.

The Vadodara model has adopted the guidelines in true spirit. “For example, here in Bhubaneswar, we are seeing excess lighting where moderate lighting is needed, while there is poor lighting in many areas where more lighting is needed. So, management of light sources is crucial. The management should be need-based and not according to political or any favourable considerations to any locality or community,’’ Rout said.

Earlier, the BMC council had decided to stop allocation of Rs 10 lakh per year on electrical installations for each ward and took a decision to grant need-based funds for electrical installations. Supporting the move, councillor of ward No. 41 Pratap Kumar Jena added that ‘need-based’ lighting allocation would stop unnecessary spending on power bill. “With adoption of the new IS-1944 norms, it will be possible to save more,’’ he added.