French development agency has agreed to fund it

After cities, energy efficient LED lights will now light up the rural areas of the country. To start with, the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the Ministry of Power, is going to retrofit 10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lamp in village panchayats in Andhra Pradesh which is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government of India’s Street Lighting National Project (SLNP). According to an official release, the project will yield energy savings of approximately 147 million units of electricity annually and lead to a reduction of 12 crore tonnes of CO2.

The upfront capital cost of this project is being funded by French development agency Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD). EESL will carry out the entire annual maintenance and do the warranty replacement for a period of 10 years.

EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar acknowledged the fact that AP State has welcomed it (EESL)’s initiatives with open arms and has truly spearheaded the energy efficiency movement in India. The first phase of SLNP in AP will be implemented in Anantapur, Chittoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore and Prakasam districts. The Government of India targeted replacement of 1.34 crore conventional street lights under the SLNP.