By Mary Honey*
I am not a typical cynic who always opposes new government initiates by providing false and useless statements. But sometimes I have raised questions to get a clear cut answer. I was wondering the durability of the efforts done by the ‘most efficient’ Kerala State Electricity Board in bringing out the new initiatives for energy conservation.
Recently on 23rd March 2013 the Kerala State Electricity Board switched to “Labhaprabha” the brand new name set up for its energy conservation scheme which lasts till 31st May through its first phase. This scheme which was meant for domestic consumers, guaranteed gifts and other incentives for saving electricity. The first step towards participating in the scheme was to get oneself registered. For this one need to send the SMS with the following details ,KSEB <space> Section code <space> Consumer number to 9287088808.The participant will immediately be informed of his/her average consumption through SMS and phase by phase instructions as to when meter readings should be taken and tips for saving energy send through SMS. If the consumer wins prizes, he/she will be intimated via SMS.
The energy credits programme is proposed to address all 85 lakh domestic consumers in the State. Half of the earnings made through savings under the scheme will either be returned to consumer or rewards of equivalent value made available to him/her. The KSEB declared rewards for up to Rs2 crore as part of the Labha Prabha campaign These include 50,000 compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs every week, solar lamps for every 1,000 consumers, table lamps, light emitting diode (LED) tubes and bulbs, water heaters, and T-5 tube lights. The bumper prize will be in the form of a 1-kilowatt (KW) solar installation (Rs1.25 crore) for the first 100 consumers who make maximum energy savings.
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*The Author is Working as Research Associate at CPPR