LED street lights to illuminate city

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 23

The Municipal Corporation has started replacing conventional street lights with smart LED street lights having various new features. The work was started by Energy Efficient Services Ltd (EESL) today.

RS Randhawa, Additional Superintending Engineer of the electricicty wing of the MC, said the project would be completed within three months. He said approximately 48,000 street lights would be changed.

Under the project, a control room will be set up at the MC office to monitor the functioning of the street lights. The officers will automatically get to know if any light is non-functional. The faulty street lights will be replaced without residents having to bother to make complaints.

The lights will be switched on at a fixed time in the evening, and with the dimming feature, the light will decrease to 50 per cent in the early morning hours. The project of replacing the existing street lights with LED street lights in Chandigarh will help the MC reduce its electricity bills.

The MC is paying a lump sum of Rs 1 crore every month. The amount is paid even when the street lights are not working. An officer said the LED lights would reduce the electricity bills by 50 to 60 per cent as these were energy efficient.

The company will not only install and provide the infrastructure, but will also ensure post-installation maintenance.