Indian state Jharkhand’s discom utility Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) in partnership with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has on average distributed 30,000 LED bulbs daily over the last four months, reported The Times of India.
According to the report, the JBVNL has distributed 3.67 million LED bulbs to households at a subsidized rate of 4,000% over the past four months.
The 9W LED bulbs, which typically are sold for INR 400 (US $5.97) per bulb, are given to electricity consumers at a rate of INR 10. The price is about a tenth of the INR 100 rate under the Domestic Lighting Efficiency Program (DELP) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After consulting the state’s energy department, JBVNL brought down the LED bulb prices so it would be on par with conventional incandescent bulbs. The aim of Indian state governments and power distribution companies has been promoting sale of LED bulbs to cut energy consumption.
The power utility company has extended its offer so consumers that have metered connections can purchase a maximum of 10 LED bulbs after paying INR 10 for each bulb, the remaining INR 95 bulb fees are recovered through monthly instalment of INR 10 which is billed along with the electricity bill. After paying nine instalments, consumers will pay INR 5 for the last instalment.
This incentive has encouraged low income families to replace conventional bulbs as a result, which enabled close to 3.67 million bulbs to be distributed since Nov. 15, 2015.