21 cr LED bulbs distributed, to save Rs 11,000 cr: Modi

Under the government's energy efficiency programme, 21 crore LED bulbs were distributed in the country which resulted in saving of Rs 11,000 crore for the consumers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Lok Sabha today.
Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to President's Address, he said his government had reduced the prices of LED bulbs, which were hovering over Rs 350 earlier, to ensure affordability of these less energy-consuming units.
State-run Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), implementing the UJALA scheme for distributing LED bulbs to consumer, has reduced the procurement price of these lights to Rs 38 per unit.

"The government has distributed 21 crore LED bulbs and due to this power bills have been reduced and Rs 11,000 crore was saved," the Prime Minister said.
"Had we given Rs 11,000 crore of subsidy, it would have captured the headlines," Modi said as he listed the initiatives taken by the government to promote energy efficiency.
According to the UJALA dashboard providing real time information on the scheme, as many as 20.70 crore LEDs have been distributed so far which have the potential to save Rs 10,756 crore every year.

It states that these 20.70 crore LED lights can reduce 2.17 crore tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year and 26.89 billion units of electricity per annum.

Besides, the portal also provides information that LED Industry has sold 26.3 crore LEDs till December 31, 2016.
Under Domestic Efficiency Lighting Programme, the government wants to replace all the 77 crore incandescent bulbs sold in India with LED bulbs. This will result in reduction of 20,000 MW load, energy savings of 105 billion KWh and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions savings of 80 million tonnes every year.
The annual saving in electricity bills will be Rs 40,000 crore, considering an average tariff of Rs 4 per kWh.
Modi also talked about solar power generation capacity crossing the 9GW mark from 2,700 MW.

India has set an ambitious target of having 100 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2022.