Power ministry to distribute 400 million CFLs at Rs 15 each for energy conservation
10 Apr 2009, K Praveen Kumar, Times of India

CHENNAI: The Bachat Lamp Yojana (BYL), a scheme of the union power ministry, could prove a boon for Tamil Nadu that is reeling under a severe
electricity crisis. The scheme, involving the distribution of 400 million compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) at Rs 15 each across the country, is expected to save more that 10,000 MW of power.

However, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) is yet to get the details of the BLY programme that was conceptualised late last year. "As of now, we have had no information," TNEB chairman C P Singh told The Times Of India. He said a few CFL manufacturers had approached the TNEB saying they would buy incandescent bulbs and replace them with CFLs at a nominal cost. "We permitted them to carry this out in two areas in Chennai. They have not got back to us," C P Singh said.

The Union power ministry has already drafted plans for implementation of the scheme and according to sources in the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), 12 CFL manufacturers and 8 CFL traders have shown intent. BEE sources said lighting accounted for almost 20% of the state's power demand and contribute almost fully to the peak load.

"At present, the vast amount of lighting in the country is provided by incandescent bulbs, which convert only 5% of electricity to light. It is estimated that around 400 million light points in the country still use incandescent bulbs. Our aim is to replace all of them with highly energy-efficient CFLs," a BEE official said.

CFLs are available commercially but the penetration has been rather slow. In 2003, about 20 million CFLs were sold in India, in 2007 it was 100 million. The reason is mainly due to the price CFLs cost between Rs 80 and Rs 175 while incandescent bulbs cost about Rs 15.

The officials say that the use of CFLs would not only reduce emissions by way of efficient end use of electricity, but would also result in the reduction of peak load in the country which currently faces a shortage of upto 15%.

To bring down the price of CFLs, the BLY programme envisages a public-private partnership between the Government of India, private sector CFL manufactures or traders and state-level power distribution companies. The ministry hopes to provide high-quality CFLs (20-25 watt) at Rs 15 per piece. The BEE will be the statutory body for implementing the programme.

The scheme also envisages free replacement of fused CFLs within 2 years for lamps with a life of 6,000 hours and within 3 years for lamps with a life of 10,000 hours. This collection would be done through buy-back schemes, and arrangements would be made for their safe disposal.