The power ministry’s UJALA program to replace 77 crore inefficient bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs has taken off in a big way across the country.
UJALA or the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs (UJALA) is the world’s largest LED program for the residential sector. As many as 15.45 crore LED bulbs have already been distributed under the program across rural and urban areas of India.
Officials said that over 5.15 crore Indian households have benefitted from this programme.
The scheme is presently operational in 18 states and 4 Union Territories. EESL will roll out the scheme in West Bengal and North Eastern states in the coming days.
In the remaining states and Union Territories, the decision to roll out the scheme is pending with the respective state governments.
The ministry of power under union minister Piyush Goyal has committed to achieving its target of replacing all the 77 crore inefficient bulbs in India with LEDs. This will result in substantial energy savings of 100 billion kWh along with reduction of 20,000 MW load and Green House Gas (GHG) reduction of 80 million tonnes every year.
The distribution of Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) a public sector undertaking of Ministry of Power.
The LED bulbs distributed under the UJALA scheme is one third the market price and these superior quality bulbs also come with a three-year free replacement warranty.
Under the UJALA scheme, consumers can avail these LED bulbs at an upfront cost and can save nearly Rs. 336 every year on their electricity bills per LED bulb, making the bulbs free to the user in just 3 months.
By Baishakhi Dutta
