Bhubaneswar, April 18: Light up your homes with energy efficient LED bulbs and it will not burn a hole in your pocket.
Energy minister Pranab Prakash Das today rolled out the ambitious Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All or Ujala scheme that aims to distribute LED bulbs to nearly 60 lakh consumers in the state at a reasonable price.
A consumer can get the bulb at one-third of its current market price and will also get a three-year free replacement warranty.
"The peak hour of electricity consumption in the state is from 6pm to 8pm, when the load is over 4,000 mega watt. If we roll out this scheme successfully in the state, we will be able to save nearly 300 to 400 mega watt of electricity per day and subsequently over Rs 300 crore in a year," said Das.
At present, a buyer gets a 9-watt LED bulb for Rs 250 in the market, while under the Ujala scheme, the cost will be between Rs 75 and 95.
Gridco will act as the nodal agency, while the four distribution companies of the state - Western Electricity Supply Company (Wesco), Northern Electricity Supply Company (Nesco), Southern Electricity Supply Company (Southco) and Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) - will be responsible for the distribution of the LED bulbs.
They will set up kiosks and distribute the bulbs to the consumers. The state targets to distribute six crore bulbs in next one year in the state.
A domestic consumer will get up to 10 bulbs of 9 watt each in a year, while the cap for commercial establishment is 20. The number of LED bulbs for institutions will be unlimited. They can buy the bulbs according to their requirements.
Use of these bulbs will also reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 10,000 tonnes every day. The power agencies will keep a track on the customers, who will have to produce their consumer IDs to buy the bulbs.
Gridco managing director Hemant Sharma said that residents should be made aware of the scheme and also the need to save energy.
For the purpose, officials will have to take on awareness activities at bottom level.
"The use of LED bulbs will allow us to save energy up to 90 per cent. A major chunk of energy could be saved with the implementation of this scheme," said Sharma.
At present, the scheme is operational in 14 states - Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttrakhand. In Odisha, however, it is operational under institutional distribution network. Only the railways are covered under this scheme here.
"This is a nice initiative of the administration to provide LED bulbs at such an affordable price. The current prices are much higher compared to the CFLs. We were forced to buy the CFLs despite knowing that they are not environment friendly, as they are cheaper. Now, that LEDs are available at such affordable prices, I will definitely buy them," said Priya Maharana, a homemaker in Bomikhal.
Ujala scheme is implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), which has been widely accepted across rural and urban areas of the country. Till today, more than 9.6 crore bulbs have been distributed under this scheme in the country.
"The primary reason for this mass adoption is the capability of LED bulbs to give light even in low voltage, where incandescent and CFL bulbs usually fail. If a person uses the LED bulbs for eight hours per day, the bulbs will last more than 10 years," said an official of the energy department.
