MERC stays Rs 175 cr MSEDCL projectBS Reporter / Nashik August 31, 2006Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has asked the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) to hold its proposed state-level project of replacing common magnetic chokes of tube lights with energy efficient electronic ballasts or chokes, in abeyance. The MERC has directed the MSEDCL to submit the detailed report of Nashik district pilot electronic ballast project within a month and not to implement this project until it gives the go-ahead.MSEDCL is to submit the report in the first week of September 2006 and claims that 35% power would be saved if common magnetic chokes were replaced with the electronic ballasts.MSEDCL also claims that it will have no need of investment in this project as the cost of the electronic ballasts or chokes would be added to the electricity bills of consumers and they too (consumers) in turn would get benefit in the form of power saving cost. With an aim to reduce peak load, the MSEDCL had decided to replace 1 crore common magnetic chokes of 40-watt tube lights with energy efficient electronic ballasts worth Rs 175 crore (As Rs 175 per ballast) across the state.In the first phase, this pilot project was to be implemented in Nashik zone (which includes five districts-Nashik, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar and Ahmednagar) with replacement of 25 lakh magnetic chokes with energy efficient electronic ballasts, worth Rs 43.75 crore.Speaking to Business Standard, Mr Deore, chief engineer(Nashik Zone) of MSEDCL, said:
