North MCD to replace streetlights with LEDs

In a major environment-friendly move to conserve energy, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation will change all its two lakh conventional park and streetlights to the LED ones. The ambitious project will cost the civic body '336 crore, but will cut its power bill by over 50 per cent.

As per the plan, the NDMC will replace all existing conventional streetlights, high-mast lights, semi-high-mast lights and fancy lights installed in parks with LED-based energy-efficient streetlights. “The replacement of conventional bulbs with the LED lights will not only bring down the amount of electricity used, but also save money. The replacement of conventional bulbs with the LED ones will start soon. The NDMC will soon float tenders to invite bids from interested parties for the work,” NDMC commissioner P.K. Gupta said.

The winning bidder has to complete the whole exercise of replacing the conventional lights with LED-based energy-efficient streetlights, high-mast lights, semi-high-mast lights and park lights within six months. A centralised control and monitoring system will also be set to maintain the new LED lights.

Mr Gupta described the NDMC decision as beneficial for the financial health of the civic body as it may result in the saving in expenditure on electricity bills for lights installed in parks, public places and streets.

The NDMC, which currently paying around '54 crore as electricity charges annually for these lights, is likely to save around 60 per cent of this amount. “Normally, replacing a conventional sodium vapour light with a smart LED light saves around 70 per cent of the electricity bills. However, by a conservative estimate, the NDMC likely to save around '30 crore annually, which may go up in all possibility. Cost incurred in installing these lights will be recovered from the amount saved in the electricity bills,” said a senior NDMC officer.

The NDMC also expecting to earn carbon credits with this plan as it will reduce its carbon emissions. “By replacing all the conventional lights, the NDMC hopes that total replacement of conventional streetlights with the LED lights will go a long way in improving the look and image of the corporation,” said the NDMC commissioner.