Gujarat distributes 30 lakh LED bulbs in 19 days

AHMEDABAD:

Gujarat

becomes the

fastest

state to distribute over 30 lakh

LED bulbs

under the Government of India’s Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme. This scheme was launched in Gujarat on May 26, 2016 and the milestone of distributing 30-Lakh LED bulbs has been achieved within a short span of only 19 days. With this, the state achieves the highest offtake in a very short period of time, setting a new benchmark altogether. On June 13, Gujarat logged an offtake of 3.36 lakh LED bulbs in one single day. This is the highest offtake in one day across all states in India. The scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of leading PSUs under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India.


Under this scheme EESL aims to distribute 12 crore 9 W LED bulbs in Gujarat and is presently distributing an average of 1.5 lakh LED bulbs daily in the state, which is yet another milestone for the UJALA scheme in India. The Gujarat Government is contributing Rs. 10 per LED bulb on behalf of every domestic consumer for the purchase of first 10 bulbs. Post this contribution by the Government, the scheme allows residential consumers to avail up to 10 LED bulbs at an upfront price of Rs. 80 per bulb or they can choose to pay in EMI without any upfront payment. Consumers choosing to pay through EMI will have to pay Rs. 85 in total, where an amount of nearly Rs. 20 per LED bulb will be added to their Bi-monthly electricity bill for a period of 4 billing cycles. It is estimated that consumers will save nearly Rs. 336 every year on their electricity bills per LED bulb, making the LED bulbs free to the consumers in just 3 months.


Neelima Jain, the National Programme Manager, EESL said, “The response from the people of Gujarat has been overwhelming. The scheme will play a key role in large energy savings in the state by use of energy efficient LEDs.”


The LED bulbs under UJALA are of superior quality with a total failure rate of just 0.31 percent. EESL provides free of cost replacement for all technical faults for a period of three years. During the distribution period, replacements can be done through any of the distribution counters that would be operating within the city.


The LED bulbs provided under this scheme come with a life of over 25,000 hours. UJALA LEDs consume only one-tenth of the energy used by ordinary bulb to provide the same or better lighting output. When compared to the traditional lamps, which either dim or fluctuate in low voltage, UJALA LED bulbs provide consistent brightness.


The UJALA programme has led to significant savings to the consumers, who are using these LED bulbs in Gujarat.


Under UJALA, over 11.63 crore LED bulbs have already been distributed across India. This is leading to a daily energy savings of 4.14 crore kWh and resulting in avoidance of 3,030 MW of peak demand. Through the scheme the estimated cumulative cost reduction of bills of consumers, per day is Rs 16.55 crores.