Energy Minister K. Kala Venkat Rao has directed the officials to take up replacement of defective LED bulbs as a top priority and on a par with distribution of LED bulbs and other energy-efficient appliances.
In a review meeting on Sunday, Mr. Rao said the government mulled a special mechanism under the Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All (UJALA) scheme to replace all the failed LED bulbs in every mandal headquarters with the involvement of local officials of power utilities.
He ordered that the LED bulbs be made available at the electricity offices in the mandal headquarters for easy replacement by the consumers.
The Minister suggested to the Energy Department to workout the modalities in such a way that the Energy Efficiency Services Limited, which distributed over 2.16 crore LED bulbs so far in the State, maintained adequate stocks of LED bulbs at the district–level stores of Discoms for smooth replacement of the defective LEDs.
He instructed that the counters be opened in each mandal headquarters, preferably in the Electricity Revenue Office, by the Discom officials for replacement of the bulbs.
Principal Secretary (Energy, Infrastructure and Investment and CRDA) Ajay Jain said replacement was being taken up through mobile vans to cover the rural areas, in addition to opening fixed counters at the mandal headquarters.
Around 5.26 lakh bulbs were replaced so far, which accounted for around 2.4% of the total LED bulbs distributed till date.
AP-Genco MD and AP-Transco CMD K. Vijayanand, adviser K. Ranganatham, AP-Transco Joint Managing Directors Dinesh Paruchuri and P. Umapathi, and Discoms CMDs M.M. Naik and H.Y. Dora were present.
