The Hindu 02.04.2013
Erode Corporation to go in for energy-efficient street lighting
To be implemented on a public-private partnership mode.
The Erode Corporation will soon replace conventional fluorescent lamps with energy-efficient LED lamps for street lighting in the district. According to sources, the process of selecting the contractor is nearing completion.
The civic body has come up with the plan as its electricity expenditure particularly for street lighting continues to grow. It maintains more than 18,500 street lights and pays over Rs.3.5 crore as electricity charges for street lighting to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation every year. Besides, the civic body spends over Rs. 1.5 crore towards the maintenance of the street lights. The expenditure will grow further as the civic body has planned to install more street lights in the newly added areas – four municipalities, two town panchayats and five village panchayats. “When we complete the installation of street lights in the added areas, it will increase our total electricity bill by at least 15 to 20 per cent,” a senior official here said.
The implementation of the energy conservation plan would help civic body reduce the electricity consumption for street lighting by at least 30 to 35 percent.
According to the plan, the conventional fluorescent lamps on the streets will be replaced with energy-efficient LED lamps. It also envisages the installation of illumination control devices, voltage regulators and other tools across the town to save the energy. The street light maintenance expenditure will also come down significantly following the execution of the plan, civic officials said.
The civic body has earmarked a little over Rs. 18 crore for the implementation of the plan on a public-private partnership mode.
“We are now scrutinising the tenders from various firms. The implementation will begin soon,” a senior official says.
The civic administration is also preparing a proposal to install solar power generation equipment in its offices as a part of its energy conservation plan. “The long hours of power outage adversely affects the administration activities. If we have an alternative power source, it will improve the efficiency,” a civic official said.
The proposal would be submitted to the government shortly for approval.
