Maharashtra state in India became the second largest distributor of LED bulbs in the nation-wide campaign to slash energy consumption, reported The Hindu.

Ranking in first place for LED distribution is Gujarat, the westernmost state in India, distributed 27 million LED bulbs since the implementation of the government project till Dec. 12, 2016, said Deepak Kokate, Regional Manager of Maharashtra state unit of Energy Efficiency Services Limited told PTI.

Trailing in second, Maharashtra distributed some 20.1 million LED bulbs throughout the year.

In regards to actual power savings, Kokate said, "The demand has gone down by 520 MW permanently for domestic consumption after the LED bulbs replaced the existing bulbs. It is almost equivalent to a power generating unit's capacity. If more people shift to LED bulbs, the power demand will reduce further and saved power can be used for other better purposes." 

EESL is a joint venture of PSUs of union ministry of power, which is a nodal agency for distributing LEDs throughout India.

Maximum demands for LED bulbs were reported in the Pune district, where 3.2 million bulbs were distributed. Nagpur ranks in second with a distribution of 1.35 million LED bulbs, while other cities in the state, such as Aurangabad and Kolhapur respectively distributed 730,000 and 1.15 million LED bulbs, said Kokate.

"There has been a good response to the scheme as LED bulbs consume less power and generate good amount of light as compared to the bulbs earlier used in the market. The total target of the state is of distribution of 30 million LED bulbs," said the officer. 

In contrast, only 800,000 LED bulbs were distributed through Mumbai, the state capital.

"Maharashtra State electricity distribution company does not have any presence in Mumbai market. The three companies that are into power distribution in the island city joined union government's LED bulb drive almost eight months later. Hence, the numbers are still on a lower side," said the official. 

Moreover, houses in Mumbai have tube-lights fitted where there is no connection or holders for installing the bulbs. Hence, the response from the city is much lower.