Hyderabad: To ensure commuters drive safely on city roads, especially in stretches that have black spots where accidents are historically more concentrated, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the last year or so has installed Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), in addition to the existing ones. In 2020, while there were 4.53 lakh LEDs, the number has increased to 4.92 lakh in 2021 and at present there are 5.25 lakh LEDs in areas falling under GHMC limits. The additional lights were installed in black spots that were identified by the Hyderabad police and in areas that were requested by public representatives and people.
With new colonies mushrooming in and around twin cities, the GHMC has also made a concerted effort to install LEDs in such areas. “At some places, though street lights were in place, people requested for additional LEDs stating that the distance between two poles was more that caused poor visibility. At such locations, we have installed more lights,” GHMC official said. The adoption of eco-friendly LED lighting systems in Hyderabad by the GHMC has also played a significant role in saving hefty expenditure incurred towards payment of monthly power bills and also reducing carbon footprint.
A total of 4.93 lakh conventional street lights in GHMC limits were replaced with LED lights, which has saved the GHMC over Rs 559 crore (includes the money spent on electricity bills, material procurement, maintenance, and staff). Simultaneously, after the conventional street lights were replaced with LEDs, around 5.16 lakh tons of carbon emissions were reduced, officials said.
The eco-friendly power utilities were set up in association with the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). Before the installation of LEDs, the monthly electricity consumption for streetlights in GHMC limits was 20.07 MU (Million Units), and the monthly electricity bill was around Rs 14.94 crore. At present, the electricity consumption has dropped to 9.96 MU and the monthly billing has come down to Rs 8.50 crore.