With the light not shining so bright on the Union
government’s UJALA scheme, the electricity supply companies (Escoms) in
the State will start selling the energy-saving LED bulbs door-to-door
from August 5.
The Energy Department is said to have
given its nod to enable the sales through linemen in urban areas and
Grama Vidyut Pratinidhis in rural areas. Under the Bangalore Electricity
Supply Company (Bescom), the sale of LED bulbs, which are being sold at
a highly subsidised rate (Rs. 80 per bulb) under the scheme, was until
now restricted to counters at the sub-divisional offices. However, the
sales made through these have been far lesser than the set target.
Over
51 lakh LED bulbs have been sold in Bescom limits under the scheme
implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL). This number
stands at over 1.18 crore in Karnataka. But Bescom’s targeted sales
stand at 2.95 crore by the end of the ongoing financial year (2016-17),
while the State’s target is six crore, said Bescom Managing Director P.
Rajendra Cholan.
Bescom officials said the average
number of bulbs sold per month under its jurisdiction has been about 7.4
lakh, with ISRO Layout division having the highest sales.
However, this number has seen a gradual fall.
“The
sales in January to March was around 10 lakh per month in the Bescom
area, which is now around five lakh. Monsoon is one of the reasons for
low turnout of customers,” said an official.
EESL MD
Saurabh Kumar admitted that sales were dwindling in Bengaluru. “But we
have crossed a crore in Karnataka. It is natural that with higher
penetration, the sales will fall. We are looking at achieving another
one crore sales in Karnataka.,” he said.
If Karnataka can have a scheme for selling low energy consuming LED bulbs, why can't Bengal? Is it because we are a surplus electricity producing state and do not need to conserve electricity?
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