CFL switchover makes Indian state energy efficient
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Long hours without electricity, peak-hour power shutdowns and soaring electricity bills haunt electricity consumers across India. And, for the energy authorities, generating power to keep up with ever-increasing demand is proving to be a losing battle.
The state of Haryana has decided that the best solution to these problems is the Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL), a nifty little alternative to Edison’s incandescent light bulb that consumes less power and lasts longer thereby cutting electricity consumption and slashing power bills. Under a concerted power-conservation drive by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) (Southern Haryana Power Distribution Board) that offered one CFL free with every CFL sold, in a tie-up with the manufacturer, village after village in the state is switching to CFL. In May this year, the village of Binola in Gurgaon on the Delhi-Jaipur highway became India’s first village to be lit entirely by CFL. Binola has become an important landmark in India’s efforts to achieve energy efficiency. Every street, shop and home in this tiny 98-household village has replaced the traditional light bulb with CFL lighting. A few months later, Sirsa earned the distinction of becoming India’s first and only 100% CFL-electrified district. The result: consumers now enjoy major savings on their monthly bills, and once-harried electricity board officials are smiling. What’s more, the switchover has attracted droves of ‘CFL tourists’ to the village! “My bill has gone down by half since we changed three bulbs in our house,” says Sarla Narayan Singh who gets a stream of visitors to her home that is the first in the long row of houses in Binola. The Narayans were the first residents of the village to switch over to CFL. The macro effect of the switchover is even more impressive. “In the two transformers, the peak load has come down from 115 amperes to 70 amperes. And there is a straight reduction in load of nearly 50%. Every second day, the transformer would crash. Ever since CFL has been introduced, the transformers are trouble-free,” says feeder manager Suresh Kumar. In fact, it was the local feeder managers and linesmen who convinced people to switch over to CFL. They first got the local panchayats on board, holding meetings with them and explaining the benefits of CFL. A few families were persuaded to replace their bulbs with CFL and, when their next bill arrived, they were amazed to see a reduction by half in the amount due. Within six months every house had been converted. Although the administration’s claim of 100% CFL electrification appears a little optimistic, it’s not too far from the situation on the ground -- at least 95% of people in the district use CFL. Sources say, in all, over 800,000 CFLs are in use in 175,000 lakh households in Sirsa. Sources at the DHBVN say the new power system could help save as much as 40% on electricity. A total switchover to CFL would mean a saving of as much as Rs 9 crore and 60 MW of power every month in this district, while in the entire state roughly Rs 180 crore could be saved each month if the plan is fully implemented. Following the success of the CFL revolution in Sirsa, the DHBVN has been exploring the possibility of replacing lighting systems all over the state with CFL, although officials concede it will be a difficult task as people in urban areas have largely resisted the idea. In fact, the only other blip in Sirsa’s CFL drive has been the failure to convince 30,000 tubewell owners to switch to CFL lighting. More recently, the Indian government has offered CFLs at subsidised cost to families that are below the poverty line, with a buyback provision for fused lamps in order to limit the environmental hazard arising out of improper disposal. Bulb manufacturers are seizing the opportunity -- Philips Electronics expects to sell 20 million CFLs in India by December. According to the International Energy Agency, lighting is responsible for 19% of the world’s electricity consumption. Greenpeace International estimates savings of up to 12,000 MW in India, from a switch to CFLs. So, while the CFL bulb is a relatively new entrant into power-starved India, its growing popularity with power utilities and increasingly with cash-strapped rural consumers is no surprise. Haryana is proof. Source: Infochange |
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