By Fullmoon Lyngdoh Kynshi
The present scenario of power scarcity should be an eye opener for the people of the state. Before the 90`s, Meghalaya was a power surplus state, but due to the increase in consumption needs mainly of industries we are in a crisis. This bleak scenario has prompted me to suggest few important and tangible solutions to ameliorate and alleviate load shedding.
Meghalaya has a population of 29, 64, 007 (2011 census) and with 70% (i.e., 21, 00,000) residing in the rural areas and the majority of them are still using incandescent bulbs (100W/60W) for their domestic lighting purposes due to cost factor. We are all aware that 20% of the load that we use is for domestic lighting. If we consider on an average, a single incandescent bulb caters to the needs of 3 persons, then 7, 00,000 (21, 00,000/3) number of such bulbs would be required for the domestic lighting. This would imply a connected load of 70 MW or 42 MW (= 7,00,000x 100W or 60W). Consider a case where all the 7 lakh incandescent bulbs are replaced by a CFL bulb of 20W (giving the same brightness as a 100W incandescent bulb), domestic lighting load would be 14 MW (7, 00,000x20W). Hence, while doing so, we are saving 56 MW (=70-14) or 38 MW which is equal to the power deficit of 45 MW to 50 MW (power deficit which prompted the MeECL to resort to load shedding). So I request the readers replace their incandescent 100W or 60 W bulbs with CFL bulbs or toxic free LED bulbs to mitigate load shedding. Replacing all the 7 lakhs, 100W incandescent bulbs with 7 lakhs 20W CFL bulbs would cost Rs 14 crore (considering the cost of each CFL bulb to be Rs. 200) where as the approximate monthly power bill against power purchase by MeECL is Rs. 34.73 crore (for 135 MW).
Due to load shedding, people have started using electrical inverters, but when the number of inverter users increases, electrical load also increases by a factor determined by the rating of the inverters and hence instead of short duration load shedding (say 2 hours a day), the duration might go up twice (say 4 hours a day) as inverters are designed only for emergency and should not be used to take advantage of the load shedding.
People should take advantage of the solar potentials available by building their house (green building) in a sustainable manner like having solar plates on their roof tops. This idea is crucial for implementation and should be adopted by people. They can go to the office of the Meghalaya Non-conventional and Renewable Energy Development Agency (MNREDA) for any assistance regarding solar energy.
People should be dynamic and energetic enough and not to lose hope for a solution. The solution is there before our eyes, the problem is that, we have not been able to open the cap. Bachat Lamp Yojana is a central scheme initiated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) which is intended to replace all incandescent 100W bulbs with efficient CFL bulbs and hence, the Inspectorate of Electricity of the Government should take advantage of this scheme. Now, due to the latest technology, latest LED bulb is best suited to be used because of its environment friendly nature as it does not contain toxic mercury like CFL bulb does. The government can think of a subsidized LED bulb to motivate the people to buying it. No doubt, cost factor is a bottleneck to my suggestion, but considering the efficiency, power saving, reliability, environmental degradation etc, it’s high time that we change the mindsets of the people.
Since power generation in Meghalaya is hydro based, the duration of load shedding cannot be predicted, but somehow, it`s duration can be brought down to a manageable limit if we are sane and sensible enough to adopt the points mentioned.
Langtor: Mairang
West Khasi Hills District.
Meghalaya
Pin: 793120
Email: [email protected]
Mobile No: 9612915957
