When it comes to the issue of electricity, it is always advisable to
look for an alternative as the availability and price of this scarce
resource has a nature of unpredictability.

Planning for a better
future, the City Corporation is mooting a solar streetlight project, so
that all streetlights coming under its ambit can be lit by tapping solar
energy. It is mooting the project at an estimated cost of Rs 12.204
crore and obtain the approval of the government to include in the JNNURM
transition phase.  If all goes according to plan, one of the biggest
headaches of paying the electricity bills for the street lamps, now
numbering 76646 and which may increase in future, would be a thing of
past.

  ‘’The current plan is to pilot the project at first in
select locations. Priority would be for tourist spots, areas comprising
the heart of the city and coastal areas. We are in the process of
drawing a detailed plan for the project,’’ said works standing committee
chairman of the corporation V S Padmakumar.

 He said this is an
individual project and will not come under the Solar City project,  the
master plan preparation of which has hit a roadblock.  In addition, for
attaining energy efficiency, the civic body is considering promoting LED
lamps for the streetlights.

 Now, fluorescent lamps and sodium
vapour lamps comprise a lion’s share of the street lamps. In their
place, if LED lamps are used for the streetlights, energy efficiency can
be ensured.

 The present method is that the City Corporation pay
the power bills based on calculating the number of burning hours. The
automatic streetlight control with metering system was expected to cut
cost in this regard, but KSEB’s plan to bring out a standardisation
throughout the state has been  indefinitely extended.