OREANDA-NEWS. Under the Government of India’s UnnatJyoti by Affordable LEDs for all (UJALA)scheme, Gujarat has become the first state to distribute 2 crore LED bulbs. Gujarat has reached this milestone in just 96 days andover 42 lakh households have already benefitted from the scheme.Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is distributing approximately 2 lakh bulbs daily in Gujarat which is again a record in itself.

During his speech in Jamnagar the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said, “There is competition between states to outdo each other in terms of LED distribution. Gujarat, in less than 100 days is now leading in terms of LED distribution across the nation. I congratulate the entire team for implementing the LED Bulb programme. I am confident that every household in Gujarat will adopt LEDs and save on electricity bills. The state will save a lot of energy and will also lead the way in helping protect the environment”

The distribution of 2 crore LED bulbs has led to an annual energy savings of 259 crore kWh which is equivalent to lighting up 5 lakh Indian homes for an entire year. Alongside the savings in units, the state has also benefitted from daily CO2 emission reduction of 5,000 tonnes.The programme has also helped the state to avoid 520MW of peak demand.

In Gujarat, 9W LED bulbs are being distributedunder the UJALA scheme. These energy efficient bulbs come with a free 3 year replacement warranty for any technical defect. To avail the bulbs, consumers have an option of paying upfront amount of Rs. 70 per bulb or they can choose an EMI option. Consumers choosing to pay through EMI will have to pay Rs. 75 in total, where an amount of nearly Rs. 20 per LED bulb will be added to their bi-monthly electricity bill for a period of 4 bill cycles. Consumers stand to save nearly Rs. 336 every year on their electricity bills per LED bulb, making the LED bulbs free to the user in just 3 months. The state government aims to distribute 12 crore LED bulbs across the state. This would lead to energy savings of nearly 650 Crore kWh and cost savings of about Rs. 2,500 crore.

Under UJALA, over 15 crore LED bulbs have already been distributed across India. This is leading to annual energy savings of 1948 crore kWh and resulting in avoidance of 3,900 MW of peak demand. Through the programme the estimated cumulative cost reduction of bills of consumers, annually is INR 7990 crores.