Energy conservation to cost Rs1.25b

LMC to install new LED street lights in the city

LAHORE:

The metropolitan corporation has decided to spend about Rs1.25 billion on installing LED street lights in the provincial capital as part of an energy saving campaign.

According to sources, existing sodium lights worth millions of rupees will be replaced as part of the campaign. Tenders issued earlier for procuring the lights will be cancelled and the process will be initiated again. Initially, new lights will be installed along nine major roads of the city.

Lahore Deputy Commissioner Omar Sher Chatha, said the project would help save Rs630 million per annum in electricity bills.

However, about 55 per cent of the city's street lights are out of order and only 45% are working. The governments during the past several years have not taken interest in ensuring the repair of street lights in the residential and old city areas, while focusing on the major roads.

Lack of functioning lights leads to an increased risk of accidents and crimes on the roads and streets during the night.

Data collected from various sources shows that there are 22,507 street light connections on 498 roads across the city. Only 10,137 of them are functioning, while 12,370 are not working properly, leaving about 65% of the population in darkness.

The nine major thoroughfares of the city are MM Alam Road, Zahoor Elahi Road, The Mall Road, Davis Road, Queens Road, McLeod Road, Empress Road, Zafar Ali Road and Canal Road, which have 437 lights. About 70% of them ae functioning, while the rest are being repaired.

There are more than 10,000 connections of street lights on 245 main roads across the city, of which 3,370 are functional and 6,636, or 66%, missing.

Another 12,064 lights in streets in in the 274 union councils of the city are included in official record, but only 54% of them are operating.

The Lahore Metropolitan Corporation pays an annual electricity bill of about Rs1.8 billion for the street lights. Another Rs350 million is allocated in the annual budget on maintenance and purchase of lights.

The present government has been complaining about unavailability since it came into power and has also launched an energy saving campaign as part of austerity measures.

At present there are more than 10,000 sodium lights installed on the roads of Lahore. The price of one light is about Rs21,000.

LED lights costing Rs50,000 each which will be installed at 22,507 spots. The metropolitan corporation will thus spend about Rs1.25 billion on the energy conservation project.

Initially, the new lights will be installed on the nine major city roads.

An official said tenders worth Rs90 million had already been cancelled for implementing the new austerity project. Tenders for procurement of 437 LED lights for the nine roads will be issued soon, the sources said.

Lahore Deputy Commissioner Omar Sher Chatha said while speaking to The Express Tribune that sodium lights had low cost but consumed substantially more electricity.

The plan of installation of LED lights will be completed in the next two years in phases.

The official said the new lights will be easier to maintain in addition to consuming less electricity.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2022.