(a) whether the Government has fixed a new deadline to address the missed target of Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) of replacing 1.34 crore conventional lights;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to expedite the implementation of SLNP;
(d) whether funds have been released to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), the PSU for extending the SLNP to North Eastern States; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
( SHRI R.K. SINGH)
(a) & (b) : Hon’ble Prime Minister, on 5th January 2015, launched Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) which aimed to replace 1.34 crore conventional street lights with smart and energy efficient LED street lights by March 2019. SLNP is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), joint venture company of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Ministry of Power. This programme is voluntary in nature and implementation is based on signing of implementation agreement by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of States/Union Territories (UTs) with EESL. EESL has signed the implementation agreement with 29 States/UTs in the country.
As on date, EESL has installed over 1.02 crore LED street lights across the country covering over 1000 ULBs.
As per the report (Lighting Industry Data 2018-19) published by Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers’ Association of India (ELCOMA) on 1st May 2019, the LED industry had supplied 1.35 crore LED Street Lights from 2015 to 2018.
(c) : Following are the steps taken to expedite the implementation of SLNP:
• Proposals for replacement of Conventional street lights with LED street lights have been submitted to all States/UTs by EESL.
• Secretary, Ministry of Power has written a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all the States/UTs for implementation of SLNP Programme in their respective states.
• EESL has signed State level agreement for the implementation of the programme.
• Regular follow up by EESL officials with key officials of State Government/ULB’s.
• National level and state level workshops/conferences have been organized by EESL from time to time for creating the awareness among the states/ULBs for implementation of SLNP.
(d) & (e) : The SLNP programme is voluntary in nature and runs without any budgetary support from Government of India. SLNP is based on a sustainable business model where the cost of efficient lighting is repaid by ULBs from savings in energy and maintenance expenditure over a period of time through savings in electricity bill. The entire upfront investment is made by EESL which aggregates demand across the country and procures LED street lights through a transparent and competitive bidding process for further installation of LED street lights in ULBs at lower rates compared to retail market.
The coverage of the programme includes North Eastern States and as on date, EESL has installed 1,04,692 LED street lights in the North Eastern States of Assam, Sikkim and Tripura.
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