Visakhapatnam: With cities in Andhra Pradesh getting efficiently lit by LED bulbs, there are plans to fix 40 lakh energy efficient LED light bulbs that would lit up around 13,000 rural areas of the state. The project is planned to be completed in a phased manner by March 2019.
The AP government has decided to develop Amaravati, the new capital of the state, as the most energy-efficient city in the country, Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary (Energy), said.
Speaking at a conference on energy efficiency jointly organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and the AP State Energy Conservation Mission in Vizag city on Friday, Mr Jain said that the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and BEE had signed a deal to design and construct buildings in Amaravati in such a way as to achieve maximum energy efficiency.
AP has adopted the best methods to achieve energy efficiency such as distribution of 2.16 crore LED bulbs across 13 districts of the state, installation of 6 lakh LED street lights in urban civic bodies beginning with Vizag city in 2014 after the cyclonic storm Hudhud struck. Now AP government has taken up installation of 40 lakh LED street lights in 13,000 villages across the state in a phased manner. Once the move is completed, the estimated energy savings per year would be 444 MU while the net benefit considering all the Gram Panchayats would be Rs 669 crore over ten years, he added.
The government is also planning to replace around a lakh agricultural pumpsets in a first phase. Ultimately it plans to replace all the 15 lakh in phases. District Courts and most of the government departments and some agencies were focusing on energy efficiency. More than 30 per cent energy can be saved by adopting these measures, Jain added.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice G. Bhavani Prasad, chairman of AP Electricity Regulatory Authority, said the government was focusing on energy-saving in consumption, it has not been giving much thought to generation and distribution.
