‘Switch off advertisement lights at 10 p.m.’

With increasing load shedding, the focus is now on energy conservation

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has urged advertisers to use lights for advertisement boards only till 10 p.m.

With increasing load shedding, the TANGEDCO is focusing on energy conservation. It is creating awareness among the public on areas and measures that can be adopted to bring down energy consumption - in domestic, commercial and industrial categories.

Chief Engineer of the corporation here A. Thangavelu says that lights are switched on for advertisement boards on the roadsides and at the shops from evening. Many lights remain switched on throughout the night. Some use halogen lamps too so that the name boards are visible at night.

These are among the major consumers of electricity.

Another area of concern is the increasing number of streetlights. Streetlights are sanctioned under several schemes in the city and rural areas. During the last financial year, 1,571 lights were sanctioned in Coimbatore region under the Tamil Nadu Village Habitations Improvement Scheme. This year, 1,734 lights have been sanctioned. The region, which includes Coimbatore, Tirupur and the Nilgiris Districts, will get 3,205 additional street lights this year. Apart from this, installation of nearly 2,300 lights was pending and these were sanctioned under the Deposit Contribution Scheme. Every year, a large number of applications are received for street lights.

Local bodies are switching over to CFLs and some have gone in for energy conservation. “We request the local bodies to minimise the number of lights, especially in areas where there are street lights already. We also request them to go in for solar lights wherever possible,” he says.

For one hour, just the additional streetlights sanctioned this year will consume seven units of electricity. The lights remain switched on for 10 to 12 hours a day.

This is an additional burden on the load. Use of timers and energy conservation measures will help bring down energy consumption in this segment, he says.