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Vizag streetlights to be illuminated with LED lights soon [Visakhapatnam] [Times of India]
[August 19, 2014]

Vizag streetlights to be illuminated with LED lights soon [Visakhapatnam] [Times of India]


(Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VISAKHAPATNAM: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has mooted a proposal of illuminating all streets in the city with light emitting diode (LED) lights with an eye on saving energy and cutting costs. And if all goes as pwer plan, all 96,000 sodium vapour streetlights will be replaced with LEDs in a phased manner.



The Union ministry of urban development will be financially assisting GVMC in taking up the project in the public private partnership (PPP) mode. However, the proposal is still at the discussion stage and GVMC plans to only cover the existing 72 wards falling under six zones, excluding the newly-merged Bheemili and Anakapalle. Confirming these plans, GVMC commissioner MV Satyanarayana said that as per instructions from the Union ministry concerned, GVMC had drawn up proposals to illuminate all streets with LEDs but the project was still at a preliminary stage. ""If we replace all the sodium vapour streetlights with LEDs, we require nearly Rs 70 to 80 crore. We are in talks with the central government for assistance in getting authorized agencies like Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) to take up the project. While for the first five years GVMC will have to pay Rs 26 crore to the agency, the entire system will be handed over to us after that,"" he said. Meanwhile, officials from GVMC's electrical wing said that if the project materialises the civic body would be able to save nearly 50% of the money it currently coughs up by way of electricity charges for illuminating the city's streets to Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP Ltd (APEPDCL). SSR Varma, deputy electrical engineer, GVMC, said the corporation currrently pays Rs 1.96 crore per month to APEPDCL for supplying power to illuminate as many as 96,000 streetlights in the city, excluding Bheemili and Anakapalli. This translates into a power bill of Rs 23.52 crore. ""If all these 96,000 streetlights are replaced with LED lamps, GVMC will be able to save nearly 50% of its electricity charges every month, which works out to a saving of Rs 11.76 crore per annum. At present, there are only around 180 LED lamps in some places like Marikavalasa and Kommadi in the city that were put up on a pilot basis,"" Varma said. However, a senior EPDCL official pointed out that while a 50-60 watt LED lamp gives the same illumination as a 200-250 watt sodium vapour lamp, the initial cost of installing LEDs is very expensive as each LED streetlight system would cost nearly Rs 25,000 as against Rs 2,000 for each sodium vapour lamp.

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