Indian government incentives promoting the replacement of conventional lighting with LED bulbs has helped a state union Puducherry save INR 27.1 million (US $420,000) in energy bills, reported The Hindu.

Local SMEs kept lighting costs within about the same as before following the government subsidized LED distribution program being rolled out in the state.

The pilot project first implemented in Guntur district in April 2014 has been expanded to all parts of Andhra Pradesh, said Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, Energy Efficiency Services (EESL).

Almost 90% of households in AP and Puducherry have overhauled incandescent bulbs with LED lamps, and the electricity bill of the households have been lowered by INR 200 per month, he added.

The Domestic Efficient Lighting Program’s LED promotion has swept over Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in January. About 20 million LED bulbs have been distributed in these states, and the upgrades have reduced power consumption and increased domestic savings.

More than 6.8 million kilowatts of energy were saved per day including a cut of 645 megawatts of power during peak hours, reduction of 5,520 tonnes of carbon emission per day and INR 27.1 million every day.