The State looks forward to saving about 250 MW of electricity in peak load demand by replacing around seven crore CFL lamps and an estimated one crore incandescent bulbs across Kerala with LED systems, possibly starting September this year.
The ambitious scheme, jointly rolled out by the Kerala State Electricity Board and the Kerala Energy Management Centre, is being described as the first such mission in the country in which the lamps that are replaced will be collected back and disposed of safely to prevent 400 to 500 kg of mercury reaching the ecosystem.
The LED lighting systems being bought by the power consumers will be paid for from the savings the families will make in their electricity bills over a period of six months.
20 to each family
As per the present plans, 20 LED lighting systems are expected to be sold to each family to replace the conventional lighting systems.
Collecting back the CFL lighting systems is important as each of the CFL units contains 4-5 mg of mercury.
A senior KSEB official said that the tendering process to buy LED lights would be completed by the end of this month and the whole programme was expected to be rolled out within 45 days of the tenders being finalised. The exact number of LED systems needed for the programme would be available as the tendering process was completed.
Kerala Energy Management Centre Director Dharesan Unnithan said this was the first time in India that such a programme was being implemented. The services of agencies such as Kudumbashree are likely to be used for collecting the old lighting systems back for safe disposal.
The State government, in a major drive to save power, had banned further procurement of incandescent lamps for use in public buildings in July 2015. The KSEB is also in the forefront of a push for generating power from renewable energy sources. The State has set an immediate target of 10,000 MW of solar power generation.
