Coimbatore Corporation reduces power expenses by energy-efficient practices
The Coimbatore Corporation, with the Smart Cities Mission, reduced power expenses by almost ₹10 crore per year since 2019 by replacing Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs with Light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The Corporation has also saved over ₹6 crore annually in the last four years by installing solar plants, said Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap here on Friday, August 4.
According to a release, the civic body replaced the CFL bulbs in 97,234 conventional street lights with energy-efficient LED fittings. Of the total street lights, roughly 58,000 were refitted under the Smart Cities Mission and the rest using Corporation general funds, according to an official in the civic body.
The Commissioner, speaking to a national-level media team in the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC), said, with this, over 1.4836 crore kWh was saved in a year since 2019. Further, electricity charges paid to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) were reduced from ₹24.5 crore per annum to ₹14.83 crore per annum — ₹9.67 crore saved annually since 2019.
ICCC Head of Technology Jai Ganesh, Deputy Commissioner S. Selvasurabhi and Press Information Bureau Additional Director General (M&C) for Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs Rajiv Jain were present at the meeting.
Solar plant : According to the release, the solar power plant of one megawatt (MW) capacity at Ukkadam sewage farm and the one MW at Kavundampalayam each saved 15.33 lakh kWh in energy and ₹1.1 crore in power tariff each year since 2019. Similarly, the 3.6 MW plant in Ukkadam saved 45.75 lakh kWh and ₹3.2 crore every year. The rooftop solar panels set up over municipal buildings in 0.625 MW saved 12.38 kWh in energy and over ₹98.94 in tariff.
Additionally, a 2 MW capacity at Kavundampalayam at ₹14.5 crore and a 140-kWh floating solar plant at Ukkadam Periyakulam at ₹61.60 crore are to be commissioned.
As per the release, the city’s renewable energy proportion is expected to see a significant boost by 2030 as the civic body will adopt several green practices in a project implemented by a consortium led by GiZ, a German development cooperation.
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