CFL for Rs 15

LinkLow price, high value

CFLs use only 20 per cent of the energy an incandescent bulb uses, to generate the same amount of illumination. They also last much longer. But they cost up to 10 times more. If made available at Rs 10-15, they will be great value for money.

The plan
Under the Bachat Lamp Yojna (BLY), old bulbs using 60 and 100 watts of power will be replaced by 11-15 watt CFLs, each costing between Rs 10 and Rs 15–the same as a conventional bulb.

Mode of action
The BLY is a private-public partnership between the Government of India, private CFL makers and electricity distribution companies. It expects to make 50 lakh replacements in the next few years.

The brands
For now, the BLY has spoken to Osram and Philips to supply subsidised CFLs to consumers, but Greenpeace, which is helping coordinate the plans, says talks are under way with other players as well.

The subsidy
The subsidy of Rs 85-90 on each bulb distributed under the scheme will total up to Rs 50 crore. This will be borne by the developed countries.

Footing the bill
Developed nations under the Kyoto Protocol can make up the defi cit on their carbon reduction target by buying into emission reduction projects in developing nations like India. The BLY is one such project.

Availability
Greenpeace plans to take this programme across India by the end of the year–primarily to the fi ve metros and Hyderabad, Lucknow and Pune but also to other cities eventually. It will also set up counters to sell CFLs.

Replacements
According to the guidelines laid down by BLY, the CFL vendors will replace lamps that stop working within a year or before they have been used for 2,000 hours.

Disposal dilemma
The disposal of the bulbs has Greenpeace worried. All lamps have around 5 mg of mercury and given the ambitious rollout plans of 50 lakh units, this could cause an environmental problem.

Why we need CFL
India suffers from a 15 per cent peak load defi cit and has struggled to bridge this gap. Under the BLY, the move from bulbs to CFL could save up to 20,000 MW of power annually.