VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that Andhra Pradesh is leading the new revolution of LED street lighting in the country and striving to make every home and village energy-efficient, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials concerned to take steps to complete the 100 per cent retrofit of street lights with LEDs in all villages in the State by Sankranti. 

In a teleconference with Energy and Panchayat Raj departments on the eve of the District Collectors’ conference on Friday, the Chief Minister said that the government is working to create a world record in LED street lighting by completing installation of around 27 lakh lights. “My first priority is to improve the living standards and better the livelihood of people in villages. I wish all the streets in rural areas be illuminated with LED lighting during the Sankranti festival,” he said.

Stating that the State started the new LED revolution in the country by starting an LED programme in Visakhapatnam after cyclone Hud-Hud, the CM said, “We are champions at the national level by completing the project in more than 50 per cent of the villages in the State. We have created a record of sorts by completing the LED street lighting programme in six districts — East Godavari, West Godavari, Vizianagaram, Chittoor, Kadapa, and Anantapur,” he said, appreciating Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration and Energy departments for scaling up the LED programme.

Panchayat Raj minister Nara Lokesh said the State stood as the front-runner with 33 per cent of streetlights in the national LED map (both urban and rural) followed by Rajasthan, Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi. AP alone has retrofitted 18.81 lakh LED streetlights in villages till date, while all the other states in the country have together installed omly 9,000 lights, that too, only in rural areas, he said. 

“The LED programme would not only lead to energy and economic savings, but also change the appearance of villages and lead to brighter streets thereby enhancing the feeling of safety and security among residents,” he said. He also said the State would achieve an annual energy saving of 300 million units with a monetary benefit of `180 crore per annum by completing all the 27 lakh LED street lighting in village panchayats. Principal Secretary for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development K Jawahar Reddy said around 18.81 lakh street lights have been retrofitted in 6,466 gram panchayats so far with the support of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and the Panchayat Raj department to complete the LED programme in Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam and Visakhapatnam district by January 15, 2019.

Principal Secretary (Energy) Ajay Jain said the Discoms have completed the laying the third wire for street lighting programme on a war-footing and almost all third wire for LED street lights has been completed in all the districts.