Savings Lamp Scheme (BLY)

In India, CFL have grown from about 20 million in 2003 to around 200 million in 2008 and that penetration of CFLs in household sector was only about 5% - 10% and cost of CFL was 8-10 times the cost of incandescent lamps (ICLs).

Before the introduction of BLY the annual average growth of ICL in the country was 4.4%. After the launch of the BYL program the ICL annual growth rate was reduced to 0.9%. When the BLY scheme was conceptualized the total sales of CFL has increased to 340 million in 2011 from 200 million in 2008. The contributions of BLY in this was only 15% which suggests that BLY has lead to market transformation. At the time of inception of BLY programme, it was estimated that the replacement of 400m ICLs by CFLs would lead to a potential reduction of over 6,000 MW in electricity demand which can further act as cascade effect in reducing the cost of CFL and penetration of energy efficient lighting in the Indian market.

For Kerala state, as per the available data domestic sector accounts nearly 46% of the electricity demand in the State, which results in a very high electricity demand (peak) during 6.30pm to 10.00 pm, with a very high contribution of, lighting demand. As per a survey conducted by the State Designated Agency (SDA) of Kerala, the Energy Management Centre EMC, the lighting in the State is majorly provided by incandescent bulbs, which are extremely energy inefficient. About 25 million light points in Kerala today are lighted by incandescent bulbs; their replacement by CFLs would lead to a reduction of over 750 MW in electricity demand. The area covered under the scheme is the entire state of Kerala having 23 Electrical division of KSEB. The domestic consumer strength of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is around 7.7 million. As per survey, it is noted that 20% of the households has 100% CFL penetration. Considering the addition of new connections and failure of some CFLs in the 100% CFL penetrated houses, it was decided to procure 15 million CFLs.

BLY’s aim was to provide energy efficient lighting at a lesser price which propel users to buy CFL. The government had intended to recover the INR 55-odd subsidy per CFLs distributed by taking advantage of a global scheme called the CDM in the form of Certified Emission Reductions (CER’s). These CERs are type of emission unit achieved by CDM projects for emission reduction under the rules of Kyoto Protocol.

It is a national policy.

Compact Fluorescent Lighting technology under energy efficient lighting.

IS 15111 “Self ballasted lamps for general Lighting services” is the Indian standard dealing with safety and performance requirements of the self ballasted lamp commonly known as compact fluorescent lamps. This standard is based on IEC 60968 ( 1988 )‘ Self ballasted lamps for general lighting services, safety requirements’. IS 15111 CFLs meeting the requiremens of IS 15111 were to be procured and it was estimated that BLY action will save the country 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power, or around INR 25 billion.

Relevant target groups

• Manufacturer The increase in demand of CFL through BLY programme, lead to more production of lamps by the manufacturers. In addition, BEE had empanelled 31 CFL manufacturers under this programme that lead to broader market penetration for the manufacturers. Due to bulk procurement, only manufacturers are involved in this process.
• User Lower energy bills benefit consumers, increases customer satisfaction and long lamp life is expected compared to incandescent lamps.
• Governmental actor • Helps in meeting the energy efficiency target for country • Lowers CO₂ emissions • Reduces peak Load • Reduces load shedding

Direct beneficiaries

• Manufacturer

  Provides increased business opportunities

• User

  Lower energy bills benefit consumers, increases customer satisfaction and long lamp life is expected compared to incandescent lamps.

• Governmental actor

  • Meet the energy efficiency targets of the country • Reduced GHG emissions

Indirect beneficiaries

• Energy company

  Replacement of inefficient bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) helps energy companies to reduce the peak demand and therefore, avoid power load shedding.

Relevant barriers

• Knowledge and information barriers: Due to lack of awareness about the benefits of CFL, many users are not able to buy this product. But BEE through BLY scheme is able to address this barrier through advertisement and conferences at state & national level. At national level, BEE was responsible for creating information and knowledge bank required for awareness campaign and at state level there are state designated agencies (SDAs) which come under BEE only to implement and spread awareness campaigns.
• Economic and financial barriers: CFL was expensive before the launch of BLY scheme but as it’s price was reduced to Rs. 15 under this scheme as comparable to ICLs, one of the major barrier get reduced.
• Lack of interest and motivation in energy efficiency-improvement: Earlier users were less aware about the energy efficiency improvements but with peak load shedding and increase in electricity charges from DISCOMS, users need to adopt energy conservation measures which was easily possible following BLY scheme. Superior quality and a new technology product (CFLs) was being distributed to electrified households at very cheaper rates from the market, which created motivation.

Relevant incentives

• Saved energy costs: BLY policy action is estimated to save around INR 25 billion at national level and in similarly end users are benefitted by the reduction in their monthly electricity bill.
• Contribution to protection of the environment: The government is committed to reduce air pollution and to protect the environment. The programme contributed to lowering the country’s carbon footprint.
• Directly increasing earnings or profits for actors on the supply side: The more market actors buy energy-efficient goods, the more manufacturers invest in energy-efficient production resulting in dropping prices. If the demand side is strengthened through BLY programmes, the supply side can make investments into this efficient market segment.

It was registered under the CDM of the Kyoto Protocol, part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In addition, it also address India energy conservation act 2001, by promoting energy efficient and high quality CFLs as replacement for incandescent bulbs in households. The Energy Conservation Act (EC Act) was enacted in 2001 with the goal of reducing energy intensity of Indian economy. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was set up as the statutory body on 1st March 2002 at the central level to facilitate the implementation of the EC Act. The Act provides regulatory mandate for: standards & labeling of equipment and appliances; energy conservation building codes for commercial buildings; and energy consumption norms for energy intensive industries.

The policy is innovative, due to CDM mechanism, which provides framework for emission reductions to occur through certified project activities. This scheme provided energy efficient CFLs at the same cost i.e., INR15, as of inefficient ICLs.

Innovative package was the energy efficient drive at national level, which also succeeded to transform Indian lighting market towards energy efficient lighting.

The policy could be switched to PPP (Public private partnership) mode where mode of payment of efficient lighting product is with saving achieved through EMI (Equally Monthly Installments).

The following pre-conditions are necessary to implement the BLY programme

Agencies or other actors responsible for implementation

• On behalf of Ministry of Power, Government of India, BEE will take the responsibility of monitoring all project areas after the DISCOMs and the CFL suppliers have entered into a tripartite agreement.

Funding

• By leveraging the sale of CERs under the CDM.

Test Procedures

• These CFLs shall carry a warranty of at least 1 Year and would be compliant with IS: 15111 Part 1 &Part 2 or any other equivalent international standard , subject to the condition that the product is under testing at a NABL for proving its compliance with the above Indian Standard .

Other preconditions

• CFLs would be distributed to only grid-connected residential households in exchange of an incandescent lamp (ICL) and INR 15.

1. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) had selected some suppliers (also knows as investors in CDM) who will supply CFLs at cheaper cost in replacement of incandescent lamps. 
2. The suppliers in return will get saleable certified emission reduction credits. The electricity distribution companies (also known as DISCOMs) will partner with any of these selected suppliers to provide CFLs at discounted price to its consumers. 
3. Participation in this scheme is completely voluntary.
4. As part of the scheme, a 60-watt incandescent can be replaced with a 11-15W CFL and a 100 watt bulb with 18-23W CFL.
5. Maximum 4 bulbs can be replaced per household in exchange of an incandescent lamp at Rs 15.

Quantified target

The replacement of all the 400m ICLs by CFLs would lead to a potential reduction of over 6,000 MW in electricity demand.

International co-operations

India is a signatory to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol allows emission reduction projects that assist in creating sustainable development in developing countries to generate CERs for use by the investor. 

Design: BEE under the aegis of the Ministry of Power
Implementation: BEE & DISCOMS

The number of CFL lamps distributed under the BLY programme is available with the BEE. About 29 million CFLs were distributed during XIth five year plan.

BEE has carried out the evaluation and an Avoided Generation Capacity of 415 MW has been achieved by the CFL distribution during XI year plan under this programme.

ICLs are extremely energy inefficient, with just 5 per cent of the electricity input converted to light. The remaining is lost as heat. In recent years the CFL has emerged as an energy efficient alternative, as a CFL uses only one-fifth as much electricity as an ICL to provide the same amount of illumination. Through CFL penetration, this technology will be available at lower rate in nearby future.

Through CFL many aspects can be optimized like:

• Peak Load shedding
• Creates employment
• Reduce Greenhouse emissions

Scheme was based on CERs under the CDM, and further due to volatile carbon market it was difficult to sustain this.

The replacement of all the 400m ICLs by CFLs would lead to a potential reduction of over 6,000 MW in electricity demand.