6 Years of UJALA and SLNP | 24 Feb 2021

Why in News

The UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) and SLNP (Street Lighting National Programme) completed six years of successful implementation. The two programmes revamped household and public lighting systems across the country.

  • Both schemes have been implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power.
  • These programmes have bagged global awards like the South Asia Procurement Innovation Award (SAPIA) 2017, Global Solid State Lighting (SSL) award of excellence for the transformational contribution to the LED sector, etc.

Key Points

  • Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA):
    • About:
      • UJALA is a zero-subsidy scheme launched by the Government in 2015.
      • It is touted as the world’s largest domestic lighting project.
      • Also known as the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), it aims to promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its consumption, savings and lighting.
      • Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the Scheme.
    • Achievements:
      • Under UJALA, EESL has distributed over 36.69 crore LED bulbs across India. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47.65 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 9,540 MW and estimated GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction of 38.59 million tonnes CO2 per year.
      • It has helped in the growth of domestic LED (Light-Emitting Diode) markets.
      • It has helped to bring down the average household electricity bills by 15%.
  • Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP):
    • About :
      • The SLNP, launched in 2015, is a government scheme to promote energy-efficiency in India.
      • Under the programme, EESL replaces the conventional street lights with LEDs at its own costs, with no upfront investment by the municipalities, thereby making their adoption even more attractive.
      • This scheme is expected to enable peak demand reduction of 500 MW, annual energy savings of 190 crore kWh, and reduction in 15 lakh tons of CO2.
      • The SLNP has plans to bring investment of Rs. 8,000 crores by 2024 to cover the entire rural India.
  • Achievements:
    • Over 1.14 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed till date, enabling an estimated energy savings of 7.67 billion kWh per year with an avoided Peak demand of 1,161 MW and an estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 5.29 million tons CO2 annually.
    • With the help of the scheme, the municipalities were able to save 5,210 crores of Rupees in their electricity bills.

Source: PIB