UJALA scheme to supplement 'Power for All' plan: Sharma

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Power Minister Piyush Goel will launch Centre's 'Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances' (UJALA) scheme for the state on April 14.
Under the scheme, consumers can buy 9 Watt LED bulbs, BEE 5-star rated energy efficient fans and LED tube lights at nearly half the market prices. Bureau of Energy Efficiency under Ministry of Power has designed a system of 5-star rating of the products, a BEE spokesperson said.
"UJALA will go a long way in supplementing the 'Power for All' target in the state," UP Power Minister Shrikant Sharma told PTI today.

He said it was unfortunate that Uttar Pradesh had not endorsed the ambitious plan when it was headed by Samajwadi Party.
"All the other states have long back endorsed the 'Power for All' plan," he pointed out.
'Power for All' pact will be signed by Adityanath and Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal here on April 14 to meet the Centre's target of making the state energy efficient by 2018 and help in ensuring power in all UP villages.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in Team India, and 'Power for All' exemplifies this concept," Sharma said here.
He also mentioned that the central power pool will certainly prove its utility, especially during peak hours, when the demand of power is the highest.

Elaborating on the UJALA scheme, he said token distribution of UJALA appliances will take place at 22 zonal offices of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) from April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of Indian Constitution.
The full swing distribution will begin across the state from May 1 at all DISCOM offices and billing counters.
The UJALA scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India.
The 9W LED bulbs will be available at Rs 60 a bulb, energy efficient LED tube lights will be available at Rs 230 per tube light and energy efficient fans will be available at Rs 1,150 each.

The pre-booking for the energy efficient appliances has already started at e-Suvidha centres and UPPCL billing counters.
In line with UJALA, the state government will also sign agreement to distribute 10,000 Solar Agricultural Pump-sets across the state.
The UJALA scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 5, 2015 with a target of replacing 77 crore inefficient bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs.
Currently, over 22 crore LED bulbs, 16 lakh LED tube lights and 6 lakh energy efficient fans have already been distributed across 25 states and 7 Union Territories.
This has led to daily energy savings of more than 8 crore KWh, resulting in avoidance of over 5,956 MW of peak demand.

The estimated cumulative cost reduction in bills of consumers per day is Rs 32.45 crore and the scheme has also resulted in daily Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission reduction of 65,800 tonnes.