Agartala to be first LED-illuminated city in northeastern India

Tripura government has approved a proposal to change the existing 30,000 street lights in Agartala to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. The proposal was put forward by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an undertaking of the Union Ministry of Power.

EESL will install LED lights in a phased manner by next year, with zero capital investment by the state. According to EESL’s assessment, Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) can save at least Rs 2 crore on its electricity bill after the installation.

EESL estimates that the AMC will not have to spend anything on capital investment, operation and maintenance of the LED-based lighting system in Agartala for the first seven years.

“AMC will pay back EESL’s investment from the savings on its power bill. In seven years, power savings will cover the liabilities of capital investment. As a result, AMC will not need to take on any extra financial burden,” says Ashutosh Jindal, secretary, urban development.

Increasing consumption of electricity has become a serious national concern. India aims to reduce 20 to 25 per cent of emissions per unit of GDP (excluding the agriculture sector) from the 2005 level, by 2020.

“Tripura government has accepted the proposal of LED lighting to contribute to India’s carbon neutral initiative. This will not only reduce our energy bill, but will also provide better lighting on streets and give them a modern look,” Jindal states.

EESL will replace 447 bulbs, including sodium vapour bulbs, on VIP Road from Raj Bhawan to Agartala airport in the next one month.
 
EESL says Agartala will be the first city in northeastern India and second city in eastern India (after Kolkata) to install an LED-based street lighting system. As part of the project, EESL will auto-programme each and every bulb in the city, so that the lights get cut automatically based on requirement.

“All 30,000 LED bulbs will be switched on in the evening. After 9 pm, when movement on the city’s roads has reduced, we will gradually switch off some of the lights according to necessity. As of now, all lights are operated manually. But automatic functional programming will reduce the misuse,” said AMC Commissioner Abhishek Chandra.