Questions/Answers

In India, providing public lighting is one important function that Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) fulfill. Studies have shown that proper street lighting can substantially reduce fatalities and crashes and lighted intersections and roads have fewer crashes than their unlit counterparts. Street lights have high hours-of-use (they are on for over 4,000 hours per year) and thus are large consumers of energy. Electricity expenditure towards street lighting form a crucial component of the expenses for ULBs. Most of the lighting needs in public lighting in Gujarat were being met by conventional street lights. The potential impact for energy savings in street lighting is substantial and has been considered as one of seven key levers to reduce carbon emissions. Government of Gujarat in order to save energy & electricity costs, enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions started implementing energy efficiency in Water Supply & Sewage pumps and Street Lighting in ULBs under the Municipal Energy Efficiency Project (MEEP). The LED Street lighting initiative has brought about a far-reaching solution and improvement in lighting infrastructure of Gujarat through inclusive public service & partnerships. There are 170 ULBs in Gujarat which have approximately 1.16 million (11.60 lakh) street lights. The increasing energy costs at ULBs created big concerns for the authorities since they had limited financial resources. The LED street lighting initiative has brought reduction in the energy consumption thereby leading to annual cost savings for the ULBs. Moreover, as the initiative incorporates an innovative financial model where the upfront investment in procurement and installation of street lights. The cost savings have enabled the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to provide capital for implementing additional citizen centric initiatives.

In India, providing public lighting is one important function that Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) fulfill. Studies have shown that proper street lighting can substantially reduce fatalities and crashes and lighted intersections and roads have fewer crashes than their unlit counterparts. Street lights have high hours-of-use (they are on for over 4,000 hours per year) and thus are large consumers of energy. Electricity expenditure towards street lighting form a crucial component of the expenses for ULBs. Most of the lighting needs in public lighting in Gujarat were being met by conventional street lights. Government of Gujarat in order to save energy & electricity costs, enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions started implementing energy efficiency in Water Supply & Sewage pumps and Street Lighting in ULBs under the Municipal Energy Efficiency Project (MEEP). Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd. (GUDC) was appointed for implementing these initiatives. The overall objectives of the initiative are: - Reduce energy consumption by promoting efficient lighting technologies that can help cut electricity costs while providing good visibility, safety and comfort to citizens at night - Preserve environment by reduction in the Green House Gas (GHG)emissions thereby mitigating climate change - Provide a sustainable service model that obviates the need for upfront capital investment as well as additional revenue expenditure to pay for procurement of LED lights

The potential impact for energy savings in street lighting is substantial and has been considered as one of seven key levers to reduce carbon emissions. The LED Street lighting initiative has brought about a far-reaching solution and improvement in lighting infrastructure of Gujarat through inclusive public service & partnerships. The energy-efficient street lighting system has enabled the citizens to travel at night with good visibility, in safety and comfort, while reducing energy use and costs and enhancing the appearance of the neighborhood and city as a whole. The cost savings have enabled the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to provide capital for implementing additional citizen centric initiatives.

In India, the provision of street lighting is an important responsibility and function of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Street lighting provides an important function; keeping pedestrians, drivers, and other roadway users safe, while promoting use of public spaces. Different studies indicate that public street lighting can represent from 5% to over 60% of a ULBs electric bill, depending on the ULBs size, the services it offers, and the efficiency of its public lighting. There are 170 ULBs in Gujarat which have approximately 1.16 million (11.60 lakh) street lights. The increasing energy costs at ULBs created big concerns for the authorities since they had limited financial resources. Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd. (GUDC) was appointed as the Nodal agency to implement the LED Street Lighting Project and monitor the replacement of inefficient incandescent bulbs (ICLs) with LEDs. The LED street lighting initiative has brought reduction in the energy consumption thereby leading to annual cost savings for the ULBs. Moreover, as the initiative incorporates an innovative financial model where the upfront investment in procurement and installation of street lights is being done by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), there is no upfront capital cost to the ULBs or additional budget allocation. This model enables the ULBs to go in for state of the art LED street lights with no upfront capital cost and no additional revenue expenditure to be incurred for change over to smart and energy efficient street lights. This initiative has helped enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions— by reducing energy consumption thereby eliminating the need for new generating power plants. Additionally, skill development training is being imparted for the maintenance of the street lights in partnership with Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers Association of India (ELCOMA), the apex body of lighting manufacturers in India.

Public street lighting represented a significant financial load for the public authorities in Gujarat. The existing conventional street lights required higher financial resources each year, and poor lighting creates unsafe condition. There are 170 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Gujarat which have approximately 1.16 million (11.60 lakh) street lights. With increasing urban population in Gujarat, increase in energy consumption and electricity bills of ULBs was an area of concern. Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd. (GUDC) was appointed by the Government of Gujarat as the Nodal agency to implement the LED Street Lighting Project and monitor the replacement of conventional incandescent bulbs (ICLs) with LEDs. The key challenges faced by the authorities in replacing the conventional street lights with energy efficient LED street lights were: - High upfront cost of LED - Inadequate financial resources, lack of capacity and information about the benefits of LEDs at ULB - Inadequate information about the life of LED / maintenance issues Under Energy Efficient Street lighting Retrofit Project approximately 1.07 million (10.74 lakh) conventional street lights have been replaced with LED Street lights across the 170 ULBs in Gujarat. The initiative has led to improvement in the overall energy efficiency, reduction in electricity consumption leading to cost savings for the ULBs including reduction in GHGs. Due to mass procurement of LED lights, the per watt price of the LED Street Lights has come down significantly. The social feedback received gave a clear indication that the overall satisfaction level and the perception of safety among the citizens is extremely high from the newly installed LED street lights. The cost savings have enabled the ULBs to provide capital for implementing additional citizen centric initiatives. Along with being weather resistant, LED street lights are approximately 50% more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting, along with being weather-resistant. This initiative has also helped to cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce carbon footprint and reduced energy consumption— by thereby eliminating the need for new generating power plants. A Control Room with Complain Handling System (CHS) has been set up for monitoring of CCMS and easy complaint redressal mechanism.

The use of LED street lights in public lighting has resulted in reduction in energy consumption and cost savings for the ULBs. The average energy savings per light per day is in the range of 0.38-0.50kWh. Not only has the initiative brighten the streets but has also enhanced the safety and security of the citizens, while reducing accident rates. The cost savings by the implementation of this initiative has allowed the ULBs to invest in other avenues to improve delivery of services to the citizens. With the global focus on cutting emissions taking centre-stage, the ULBs need to implement solutions that hold the promise of high efficiency and returns. Public lighting could have a large, swift impact, as each ULB has a substantial lighting footprint. In addition to the environmental benefits, any initiative for energy consumption reduction in public lighting will also lead to the better financial health of the ULBs. Also, LED bulbs have a very long life, almost 50 times more than ordinary bulbs, and 8-10 times that of CFLs, and therefore provide both energy and cost savings in the medium term. - Expected overall annual energy savings: 203.00 million KWh - Expected reduction of installed street light load: 48.6 MW - Annual estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions: 163192.57 tonnes of CO2 - Expected annual cost reduction of ULBs only by energy saving : Rs.122.39 crore

The LED Street Light initiative is based on a innovative and sustainable business model where the cost of procuring and installing LED lights is repaid by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) from savings in energy and maintenance expenditure over a period of time through savings in electricity bill. Under this initiative, the entire upfront investment is made by EESL. EESL procures LED street lights through a transparent and competitive bidding process by aggregating the demand for the same. The bulk procurement of LED lights through a transparent and competitive bidding process has enabled ULBs to install LED lights at lower rates compared to retail market. The repayment by ULBs to EESL is on a monthly basis wherein EESL is entitled for the 60 % deemed energy saving while ULBs share in these savings is 40 % for a period of seven years. The initiative not only guarantees a minimum energy and revenue savings but also provides free replacements and maintenance of lights at no additional costs making it affordable and financially sustainable for the ULBs. Additionally Centralized Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) has enabled remote operation and monitoring of the street lights. CCMS provides real time information on energy consumption and remote monitoring of the street lights. The system sends alerts for each light that needs attention, reducing the chances of failure and sudden repair. Therefore, the avoided capacity of electricity can be ascertained from the reduced consumption of electricity. The system also helps note the exact consumption of energy, which is used to define the cost to be paid. A Control Room with Complain Handling System (CHS) has been set up for monitoring of CCMS and easy complaint redressal mechanism.

Government of Gujarat appointed GUDC as the Nodal agency to improve energy efficiency in the ULBs across the State under Municipal Energy Efficiency Project (MEEP) in Water Supply pumps, Sewage pumps and Street Lighting. GUDC initiated the process of installing / replacement of conventional street lights with LED lights on 18/12/2015 for Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation and 19 other ULBs across Gujarat as a pilot in ESCO Model under PPP mode. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India launched UJALA (Unnat Jyoti By Affordable LEDs for All) on 11/03/2016 , a country-wide initiative to promote efficient lighting, reducing energy consumption and energy savings for replacing incandescent lights with LED lights. Under UJALA, Domestic Energy Lighting Programme (DELP) was introduced for household usages and Street Light National Programme (SLNP) for streetlight usages. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector undertaking of Government of India has been appointed as the implementing agency. In line with the launch of UJALA initiative, an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between EESL and Government of Gujarat on 08/11/2016 whereby it was agreed that Gujarat Urban Development Company (GUDC) and EESL, would jointly implement the LED Street lighting programme in Gujarat. GUDC and EESL have been implementing the street light initiative across the 170 ULBs in the state.

The procurement of the LED Street Lights was done by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) through competitive national bidding process by aggregating the demand for the same across the country. Economies of scale brought down the cost of LED lights from Rs. 135/watt to Rs. 80/watt. Moreover, EESL makes the entire upfront investment in procurement and installation of street lights with no additional budget allocation from the ULBs. The repayment by ULBs to EESL is on a monthly basis wherein, EESL will be entitled for the 60 % deemed energy saving and ULBs share in these savings will be 40 % for a period of seven years making the LED lights affordable and accessible. EESL has also upgraded the existing infrastructure such as arms, clamps, cable, and wire as required for proper installation. The maintenance of the street lights is carried out by trained manpower who are provided skill training. Several positives accrue out of this initiative, such as reduced energy consumption, negligible equipment breakdown, real-time dashboard tracking, and easy monitoring.

Yes

The initiative to convert conventional street lights with energy efficient LED lights is now the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) which aims to replace India’s 14 million conventional street lights with energy efficient Smart LED variants by 2019. Presently, EESL is retrofitting 15,000 conventional lights with LED street lights every day. EESL is also implementing a special heritage lighting project. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and State of Melaka in Malaysia, have sought to collaborate with EESL to replicate the successful street lighting programme. 

The project is financially sustainable for the ULBs as they need to pay EESL from the savings in energy and maintenance cost over a 7-year period, making the LED lights affordable and accessible. An estimated 4800 million units in electricity is wasted every year due to inefficient water pumps used for supplying water. Given the success of the LED street lights initiative, Government of Gujarat has started to implement energy efficient retrofitting across other ULB utilities like water pump sets and sewage pumps.

It is estimated that nearly 30% of total electrical power consumption of any country is utilized for the lightning the roads and streets. Efficient street lighting plays an important role in energy and in turn revenue savings run public services for the ULBs. LED is one of today's most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies that has revolutionized energy-efficient lighting. LED lighting has the greatest potential impact on energy savings. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting. The LED street light initiative in Gujarat is helping ULBs to reduce their energy consumption saving them their revenue as well as helping Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMS) to manage peak demand without any upfront capital cost. The recovery of investment is through consequent reduction in energy and maintenance cost. The LED Street Light initiative is a sustainable technology with long-term durability and having environmentally wholesome impact.

Yes

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) conducted survey to assess the impact of new LED street lights across the state of Gujarat. The social survey was done to measure the opinions citizens and other beneficiaries related to the initiative. The parameters included road safety, personal safety, security of property, improved visibility, illumination, ease of access, streetscape enhancements, crime reduction etc. To measure and assess the energy savings achieved through the LED Street light initiative, Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd. (GUDC) reached out to the ULBs, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL) and Power Discoms to provide data across key parameters which included: energy savings (in kWh), peak load reduction (in MW) and annual GHG emission (in tCO2).

EESL has undertaken social audits across Gujarat which have indicated that the overall satisfaction level and the perception of safety among the citizens is extremely high from the newly installed LED street lights. During the survey, the people residing in the nearby areas highlighted that the installed LED street lights have enhanced the lighting levels providing a feeling of security as well as making the roads look more beautiful as compared to the conventional yellow lights. It was also mentioned that LED street lights have illuminated those places where there was no illumination or very little illumination. Police Officials spoke of the enhanced safety brought about by brighter lights and reduced dark spots. They also highlighted the improvement in the CCTV footage due to brighter and better lighting conditions. The ULBs have shown significant energy and financial savings from the LED street lighting project. The actual energy savings accrued due to the installation of LED street lights have also been quantified in terms of estimated energy savings in million units/annum, avoided peak load reduction in MW and reduction in GHG emissions in tonne of CO2.

The actual energy savings accrued due to the installation of LED street lights are being quantified in terms of: - Number of LED street lights installed - Monthly energy savings - Estimated reduction of installed street light load - Cost reduction of ULBs monthly only by energy saving - Monthly estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions in tonnes of CO2 - Maintenance cost reductions - Measurement of electrical parameters like voltage, current, power, power factor, harmonics etc. for sample of LED fixtures

Convergence between stakeholders allows in delivering better outputs. Following stakeholders were involved in conceptualizing, implementing, monitoring and coordination of the initiative: Urban Development & Urban Housing Department, Government of Gujarat : Conceptualizing the initiative; drafting the terms of agreement for the Memorandum of Understanding with EESL for implementing the initiative. Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd.(GUDC), Government of Gujarat : Nodal agency for the initiative and monitoring the implementation across State Urban Local Bodies (162 Municipalities and 8 Municipal Corporations), Government of Gujarat: Beneficiaries and monitoring the implementation in their respective ULBs Director of Municipalities (DoM), Government of Gujarat : Coordination Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMS) : Power infrastructure Coordination Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd., Government of Gujarat : Power infrastructure Coordination Ministry of Power, Government of India : Conceptualizing the initiative Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL), Government of India : Implementing agency for the initiative Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers Association of India (ELCOMA): Skill Development LED Light manufacturing companies: Component manufacturing Companies involved in retro-fitting and maintenance of street lights : Maintenance Citizens: Beneficiaries

Key lessons learned during the implementation of the initiative are as follows: - Procurement of LED Street lights based on demand and accurate information from ULBs is important for efficient decision making. This also helps in understanding the amount of funds that will be utilized in building infrastructure. Such information also becomes the base data on which the progress can be tracked - Immediate resolution of the complaints about faulty street lights by conducting regular inspections and continuous monitoring of the initiative is required. - Continuous monitoring of the initiative is mandatory to understand the successes and slippages. Slippages if not taken care at the initial level can become a major - hindrance for the successful implementation of the initiative. It is imperative to realize that one initiative may solve one part of the multi-pronged problems staring at any government. To further improve the initiative and reduce GHGs, Government of Gujarat is evaluating the possibility of Solar Energy Powered LED Street Lights in government buildings.