The State Government plans to give incentives to CBSE schools for smart steps to save power, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed has said. Such incentives are being offered to aided schools in the State.

Terming the new campaign as another step towards energy conservation, the Minister said the school in the State that best conserved power would be given a prize of Rs 1 lakh. The school selected as the best energy saver in the district will get Rs 25,000, he said.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Energy Smart CBSE Schools’ here, the Minister said that from each school, a student who contributed most for the school’s energy-saving plans would be selected for a cash incentive of Rs 500.

Schools and students had great potential for revolutionising the way energy was now being used. Each unit of energy saved would contribute to mitigating the power shortage now faced by the State, he said.

Emphasising the need to save energy to meet future requirements, the Minister called upon schools managements to make proposals under the new solar home project. Under the solar power scheme, each home would be given substantial subsidy to set up solar panels to produce off-grid energy.

The target is to include 10,000 homes in first year and to enhance it to 25,000 in the coming years. There will be 2 to 3 lakh solar homes in the State in the next five years, he said.

The Government is also providing substantial incentives for solar homes plan. The Union Ministry for Non-Conventional Energy provided 30 per cent subsidy and the State Government would provide Rs 39,000 of subsidy.

Indira Rajan, Secretary of the Kerala CBSE School Managements Association, pointed out that there are 1,113 CBSE schools in the State and 15 lakh students in them.

A conservative estimate of at least 15 lakh units of power could be saved through the efforts of these children. This translated into savings worth Rs 36 lakh a year, she said.

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