Maharashtra is an Indian state located in the western region of the country. The government has implemented several projects to turn the state into a smart, urbanized area. To achieve this goal, the authority opted for energy saving technology that would greatly reduce energy demand, including distributing LED bulbs and upgrading conventional street lighting to LED ones.

The officials told Business Standard that the local people across the state have saved approximately INR 14 million (US $208,096) within the past seven months thanks to successful distribution and promotion of more than 10 million LED bulbs.

These LED bulbs are being distributed under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), which managed by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL). The distribution has saved the stated an estimated 3.5 million KWh, slashed peak load by 298 MW and helped reduced consumer bills and lower greenhouse gas emission by approximately 2,900 metric ton of carbon dioxide.

Each LED bulb distributed by DELP were sold at a favored discount price range from INR 160 to INR 400, which is approximately 75% lower than average LED bulbs. Saurabh Kumar, managing director of EESL stated that the cost of the LED bulbs paid itself off in less than a year of purchase. The LED bulbs being sold to local people have a lifetime of 25,000 hours.

Meanwhile, the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) has schedule INR 70 million as part of the funding for the smart city plan. The aim for the funding is to upgrade the streetlights to LED ones and utilizes renewable energy to power the lighting, reported Times of India.

The upgrade of LED lighting mainly focuses on Cidco’s mass housing scheme such as LED streetlights.

Authorities of Cidco are also exploring the possibility of applying renewable energy including solar power as energy source to its upcoming LED streetlight project.

Infrastructures incorporating the metro and international airport will raise future energy demands, therefore, the introduction of LED lighting system with lower energy consumption is considered beneficial to the overall improvement of the public facilities.

The EESL has distributed more than 70 million LED bulbs across India under the DELP, saving more than 24 million KWh per day. The authorities aims to switch 77 million incandescent bulbs nationwide by 2019.