Following a gradual shift to LED street lights in major city Corporations, the State government is now planning to implement the same in all municipalities and grama panchayats as part of the Nilavu project.
The aim of the project is to cut down on the power bills from street lighting and reduce the carbon output.
As part of the Nilavu project, at least 500 existing street lights will be replaced with LED lights under each local body every year. The local bodies can increase or decrease this number as per their needs or available financial resources. The Local Self Government Department estimates that there will be a drastic fall in power bills for the local body if at least 40% of the lights are replaced with LEDs.
Corporations like Thiruvananthapuram began the shift to LED lighting three years ago, with a specific number of street lights in each of the wards being replaced by LEDs periodically. As the LED street lights are connected to a web-based monitoring system, remote operation is possible.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will be the nodal agency of the ‘Nilavu’ project. The KSEB has chosen the Energy Efficiency Services Limited, under the Central government, as the project management consultant. The lights will have seven years warranty, during which period there will be free replacement in case of faults. The lights are of six different wattages, ranging from 18 Watts to 110 Watts.
The local bodies have been asked to calculate the number of lights they will need and inform the KSEB. As part of the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) offered by the KSEB, the cost per LED is ₹34.46. The local bodies can choose whether to ink the AMC with the KSEB or go in for a different arrangement. The KSEB will calculate the financial gain from the shift to the LED lighting system and transfer the same to the local bodies at regular intervals.
The KSEB and LSGD will appoint a nodal officer for the coordination of the project. A monitoring committee has also been formed at the State level with the secretaries of the LSGD, power departments, KSEB Chairman, directors of the panchayat and urban affairs department, and nodal officers as members.