Mira Bhayandar: MBMC gets govt nod to replace power-hogging street lamps, set to save crores

Mira Bhayandar: After wasting nearly Rs.30 crore, from its treasury to pay electricity bills for streetlights, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has finally got an approval from the state government authorities to get the power hogging bulbs replaced with LED’s (light emitting diode) by the existing service provider.

In a bid to take energy efficiency to another level, the central government has been aggressively promoting the use of LED bulbs. As a part of the initiative the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)- a government public sector undertaking has extended an efficient lighting programme to urban local bodies across the nation. 

High initial investment pegged at Rs. 19 crore

The civic administration intended to be a part of the revolutionary LED initiative for its street light system which is presently controlled by a private service provider. Although the initiative would help conserve energy, the high initial investment pegged at Rs. 19 crore had proved to be a dampener.

“Despite getting the bulbs replaced by the EESL, we would have remained dependent on the existing service provider for maintenance and other logistical support. We had tabled a proposal seeking the replacement done by the existing service provider.” said city engineer-Deepak Khambit. However, the proposal was rejected. 

MBMC chief-Dilip Dhole followed up on the issue with chief minister- Eknath Shinde and the proposal was finally given a green signal by the energy department on the virtue of merit and ground realities. There are around 16,000 street light poles in the twin-city and the MBMC has to cough up more than Rs. 12,00 per pole towards electricity and maintenance charges. As per this tariff the Public Works Department (PWD) has to cough up around Rs. 2 crore every month to keep the street lights glowing. Replacing conventional bulbs of 16,000 street lights poles to smart LED’s would not only ensure more than 50 percent saving in power bills, the MBMC is also exploring the idea of adopting the Pay-As-You-Save model.