Gram Ujala scheme to save power and cut carbon emission considerably: RK Singh

The Gram Ujala programme to distribute LED bulbs in villages will save twice the amount of electricity than the preceding Ujala programme, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh said on Wednesday.

“Gram Ujala will save electricity and cut CO2 emissions double the amount achieved by Ujala. We estimate that it will save around 300 million units per year and lead to an avoidance of around 300 million tonnes of CO2 emissions,” Singh said following a Gram Ujala event in Varanasi.

Around 1.5 crore LED bulbs will be sold in rural areas at a price of ₹10 as part of the first phase of the Gram Ujala programme launched earlier this month by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.

The new programme follows Ujala, which was launched in 2015. Under Ujala, EESL had distributed over 36.69 crore LED bulbs across India. This saved 145 million units of electricity per year and avoided 160 million tonnes of CO2, Sindh said.

The minister added that the Gram Ujala programme would take off where the predecessor had left. “We had seen that Ujala did not reach villages. It was mostly in the cities,” he said.

In the first phase of the new programme, high-efficiency 7-watt and 12-watt LED bulbs will be distributed across villages of Aarah (Bihar), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), and in western Gujarat, a statement from CESL said.

The bulbs will carry a warranty of three years and will be given to rural consumers against the submission of working incandescent bulbs. Consumers can exchange a maximum of five bulbs. Participating rural households will also have metres installed in their houses to account for usage.

Further, carbon credit documentation will be sent to UN-accredited validators for inclusion into the Shine Program. Carbon credits will be prepared under the Shine Program with an option for verifying under the Voluntary Carbon Standard, depending on the needs of carbon credit buyers, the statement said.

Buyers of carbon credits will also be sought through an open process based on initial discussions with the market. The balance cost and margin on the LED cost will be recouped through the carbon credits earned, the statement added.