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All new LED bulbs distributed under the UJALA scheme after July 1 will have to be BEE Star Rated.
This move is being implemented in a bid to weed out poor quality bulbs that have pilfered into the government’s LED distribution programme run by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).
Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of an event to mark the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Ajay Kumar Bhalla said, “The LED bulbs that were distributed by EESL were already rated by Bureau of Indian Standards. That was mostly a safety rating.
The BEE Star Rating will add another layer of quality check for the bulbs being distributed.”
Chinese bulbs
Bhalla said that one per cent of the 29 crore LED bulbs that have been distributed by EESL are considered to be poor quality Chinese bulbs. “It is these bulbs that have complaints, though they are just one per cent of all the bulbs distributed, since we are looking at a very large number of bulbs, such a small fraction also has a significant footprint,” he added.
The UJALA scheme was launched with a target to distribute 770 million LEDs by March 2019 across 100 cities.
“The programme aims to rectify India’s high cost of electrification and the increased emissions from inefficient lighting, amidst the backdrop of electricity demand witnessing a 5-fold increase over the coming years,” an EESL statement said.
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