Salem Division, Southern Railway takes a big leap towards energy conservation by distribution of large number of LED bulbs to railway employees at subsidy

 Sri Shubhranshu DRM distributing LED lamp to an employee. Sri S. Rengarajan, Sr.DEE (2nd from Left) & Sri S. Balasubramanian, ADEE (3rd from left) look on

 Sri Shubhranshu DRM addressing the employees (L-R) Sri RS Sinha, ADRM, DRM, Sri S. Rengarajan Sr.DEE & Sri S. Balasubramanian ADEE

Sri Shubhranshu, DRM, checking one of the LED bulbs 

As part of its efforts towards utilising green energy and conservation of conventional energy, the Electrical Branch of Salem Division, Southern Railway,  on 05.01.2016, started distributing energy efficient & high luminance 7 watt LED lamps to the railway employees at a subsidized rate of Rs.100/- as against the market price of Rs.300/- for similar capacity lamps.  While similarly priced LED bulbs don’t carry any warranty, these subsidized LED bulbs are supported by 3 years replacement warranty. These 7 watt LED lamps have a luminance of 700  that is provided by an incandescent bulb of 40 watts, thus saving about 6 times of electricity.

The distribution of LED lamps was launched by Sri Shubhranshu, Divisional Railway Manager, Salem, in the presence of Sri R.S. Sinha, ADRM, Sri S. Rangarajan, Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer/General, and other Branch officers and staff. Railway employees showed extreme interest in installing such energy efficient LED lamps in their residence and within a short time, the entire initial stock of 300 LED lamps were distributed.

On an average a common incandescent lamp of 40 watt capacity lit for 12 hours would consume 14 units of electricity/month, whereas with the usage of LED bulb it would come down to 2.5 Units on lighting due to the energy efficiency of these LED lamps, once installed, thus resulting in a minimum saving of Rs.34/- per month.

During the launch of LED lamps distribution, Shri Shubhranshu expressed his happiness over this initiative by the Electrical General branch of Salem Division and said that every unit of electricity saved is to be deemed as that much energy produced. Energy saved thus on the domestic front, he said, can be diverted to more productive purposes, in the industrial front. There is a possibility of the country becoming energy surplus nation, by such small steps everywhere, he added.

This distribution of energy efficient LED lamps is being carried out under the DELP (Domestic Efficient Lighting Program) initiative of the Govt. of India. On a larger perspective, usage of LED lamps help to save a whopping 1.56 crore kwh units,resulting in cost savings of Rs. 6.14 crores per day, apart from reducing carbon emission to the extent of 12,750 units of CO2 per day. This will also help to reduce peak demand for electricity by 1,434 MW.