Mira Bhayandar: MBMC wastes Rs.12 Crore every year on power-hogging street lights

The twin-city wait for LED (light emitting diode) street lights seems to be getting only longer. Even after three years, the ambitious project to replace sodium vapour lamps with LED lights has failed to take off and as a result, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has been wasting a huge amount of money from its treasury on the power-hogging streetlight lights every month. 

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.   

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 proved to be a dampener. Three years ago, we had tabled a proposal before the state government authorities seeking the replacement done by the existing service provider. However, the proposal was rejected,” revealed a senior MBMC officer seeking anonymity. 

The bulb would be replaced by the EESL but the MBMC will have to remain dependent on the service provider for maintenance and other logistical support. There are around 15,000 street light poles in the twin city and the MBMC has to cough up more than Rs. 1200 per pole towards electricity and maintenance charges. As per this tariff, the Public Works Department (PWD) has to cough up around Rs. 2 crores every month to keep the street lights glowing. Replacing conventional bulbs of 15,000 street light poles to smart LEDs would ensure 50% savings in power bills. The MBMC also has an option of adopting EESL's Pay-As-You-Save model, said an official.  

CM Gives Ray of Hope 

The issue was discussed at length by legislator’s- Pratap Sarnaik and Geeta Jain in a recent meeting with chief minister-Eknath Shinde. Since several other municipalities had mooted similar proposals, the chief minister asked the authorities to take an opinion from the energy department following which an appropriate decision could be taken on the important energy saving issue.