To achieve optimum energy efficiency and conserve power, Kerala will now ban the sale of Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and filament light bulbs across the state from November 1, announced Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac in his budget speech on Friday.
The Finance Minister also added that 2.5 crore LED bulbs were already fixed in the state in 2019, and that by the end of 2020, all the street lights and government building lights will be converted to LED (light-emitting diode).
“For improving power savings, initiatives such as the Zero Filament Pilicode model will be supported by the government,” Thomas Isaac said in his speech.
The Pilicode Zero Filament project was undertaken in Kasaragod’s Pilicode Gram Panchayat, which was officially declared the first filament-free panchayat in Kerala in 2018. For this, the local body replaced 40,000 filament light bulbs in panchayat with LED bulbs.
According to, IHS Markit, a global information provider, LED bulbs use about 40% less power than fluorescent lights, and 80% less than incandescent lights, to produce the same amount of light. Additionally, fluorescent light bulbs contain small amounts of mercury which, when broken, can pollute the environment.
Power corridors
The Kerala government has also set aside Rs 10,000 crore to set up power corridors, which aims to reduce power shortages.
“The completed Kochi-Edamon power corridor has the capacity to generate 2,000 megawatts. The building of the second trans grid project has also begun. With this, we will be able to bring in power equivalent of 2000 megawatt from outside and meet our power needs till 2040,” he added.
Additionally, to tackle obstacles in power distribution, the government has also launched the Rs 4,000 crore ‘Dyuthi 2020’, a power distribution renovation scheme.
“From the 11KV lines that lead to the transformer, at least two lines have to be fixed to ensure unhindered transmission. That is why we have launched the Dyuthi 2020, power distribution renovation scheme. We have also launched an e-safe scheme to reduce electrical accidents in the state,” he added.