Stating this on Monday, chief information commissioner Heeralal Samariya noted that these programmes were aimed at reducing the cost of electricity and enabling consumers to lower their power bills as also reducing greenhouse emissions.
He said chief minister Chandrababu Naidu was taking steps to address climate change on a war footing after assuming power recently and for releasing BEE’s poster on Mission LIFE. This, he said, would raise the living standards of the people through health, economic and environmental interventions.
A release from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, South India, said AP has been implementing Unnat Jyoti through programmes like the Affordable LEDs for All, Agriculture Demand Side Management and E-Mobility. One of the largest pilot projects under SLNP was implemented in Visakhapatnam, which is considered as the world’s largest street lighting programme, it said.
Despite the devastation caused by Hud Hud super cyclone in October, 2014, GVMC and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd signed an agreement to provide LED street lights in the city by replacing neary 95,000 defunct and traditional streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs within three months, it said.
The release said, “This led to a 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption wherein the connected load of 7.9mw was reduced to 3.9 mw. This also resulted in annual cost savings of $ 4.7 million to the corporation. The consumers had the benefit of a reduction in their energy bills.”
By 2019, nearly 29 lakh energy-efficient street lights had been retrofitted across municipalities and panchayats in AP, making it a role model for others in the Street Lighting National Programme, it said.
The BRICS global conference held in Visakhapatnam in 2016-17, had recognised Visakhapatnam as the birthplace of energy efficiency street light programme under SLNP.
Energy special chief secretary K Vijayanand, who reviewed the energy efficiency programme with officials from BEE and state Energy Conservation Mission recently, stated that the department was trying to reach the targets of BEE to provide the fruits of energy efficiency to the consumers.
“Moreover, with the support from BEE, the SECM has set up around 1,000 energy efficient clubs in educational institutions to ensure that the students become habituated to energy efficiency and energy conservation and environmental protection.”
“As for the Energy Efficiency Services Ltd’s energy interventions, AP saved energy of 1,980mn kwh, avoided peak demand of 330mw and reduced 1.36mn t of CO2 emission with regard to the Street Light National Programme. In Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Appliances for ALL, AP saved energy per year of 2,863mn kWh, a cost saving of Rs 1,145 crore and avoided peak demand to the extent of 573mw while CO2 emissions reduced to 33,18,461 t,” Vijayanand said.
