A scheme to sell LED bulbs at concessional price by the central government has brought a revolution in the energy savings in India, a move with a potential to save up to energy worth Rs 40,000 crores.
Energy Efficiency Services Limited or EESL, a joint venture of PSUs of Centre’s Power Ministry, is selling an LED bulb of 9 Watt at a price of Rs 60 only. The LED bulbs by the private companies were being sold at much higher price before the EESL entered the scene.
The LEDs, which were to replace cheaper but higher-energy consuming light bulbs, were costly products if procured from private manufacturers. But the EESL get the LED bulbs manufactured at a bulk level, making its production and procurement cheaper.
“The company gets the LED bulbs manufactured at a large scale which reduces its cost. The benefit is passed on to the consumers,” Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director of the EESL, said.
He added that Rs 40,000 crore worth of electricity can be saved if all the light bulbs in the country are replaced with LEDs.
Kumar argued that a LED bulb of 9 Watt gives the same amount of light as the 100-Watt light bulbs give, resulting in up to 90 per cent of energy conservation.
Traders who deal with LED bulbs told India TV that EESL scheme increased completion in the market, so the private companies also brought down the price of their products.
