Cut expenses: A row of streetlights on the stretch between Raj Bhavan and AG Square in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, June 30: The municipal corporation is set to sign a 10-year contract with a Mumbai-based private organisation to reduce its street lighting expenditure.

A proposal in this regard received the nod of the municipal council on Saturday. The proposal has now been sent to the housing and urban development department for further approval.

The measures to reduce expenditure would include installation of timers on electric poles, which will switch streetlights on and off automatically. Dimmers will also be installed to help control illumination levels during dawn and dusk.

Energy efficient transformers and with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are also supposed to replace the older ones, which consume more electricity.

Sources in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the civic body spends Rs 8.4 crore as electricity bill every year.

In September 2011, BMC had signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank group, to prepare a detailed project report on energy-saving measures for streetlights.

The detailed project report had taken into account the requirement of streetlights in various areas along with requirement of the amount of lighting for busy streets and streets with lesser vehicular movement.

Sources in the BMC claimed the proposed energy conservation measures would save energy consumption by 60 per cent. “Once the proposal is approved by the housing urban development department, the private party will start its work,” said municipal commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra.

The corporation will not spend anything and all expenses will be borne by the private party. According to the proposal, 10 per cent of funds saved due to energy conservation will go to the BMC and the private party will take the rest.

The corporation had already installed LED bulbs in the stretch between Master Canteen Square and Ram Mandir Square while work for a similar LED-based street lighting system has started in the stretch between Raj Bhavan Square and Jayadev Vihar Square.

“We cannot afford such a huge electricity bill for street lights,” said BJB Nagar councillor Amaresh Jena.