Pilicode shows the energy conservation way

The Pilicode grama panchayat in Kasaragod has set a model for others to emulate in energy conservation.

Pilicode, situated at the district’s southern end, is perhaps the first filament bulb-free grama panchayat in the nation and a formal declaration to this effect was made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a function at Kalikadavu town on Thursday evening.

An energy-conservation drive was launched in March 2016 involving voluntary agencies and 117 neighbourhood groups, each having 30 to 60 households. Awareness classes were held for an year on the need to save electricity, grama panchayat president T.V. Sreedharan told The Hindu.

The sessions yielded results. There was a bimonthly reduction of 1,20,328 units in power consumption in the panchayat in March last year compared to the corresponding period the previous year, he said.

Buoyed by the energy conservation award, instituted by the State Energy Management Centre (EMC), it received last year, the panchayat accorded priority to energy conservation in its scheme of things. The local body distributed 8,900 pieces of 9 watt LED bulbs through the local KSEB office at ₹70 a bulb and 14,000 LED bulbs at ₹50 a piece through the EMC, Mr. Sreedharan said.

The awareness classes stressed the need to replace the zero watt conventional bulbs, which consumes 15 watts, with 0.5-watt LED bulbs. Households were also asked to switch off refrigerators between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The awareness classes imparted to the local people eventually led to the replacement of conventional filament bulbs with the energy-saving LED bulbs over the last two years, he said.