The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Power goes waste in twin cities

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Monday, Jul 28, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Power goes waste in twin cities

Swathi. V

Civic body to blame

Streetlights begin glowing well before sunset, continue throughout the day
Illumination of hoardings presents another instance of power profligacy

HYDERABAD: Streetlights in many parts of the city could put stars and the moon to shame by shining bright during daytime, notwithstanding the current power crisis rocking the entire State.

There is more to it. Billboards flash advertisements and commercial establishments proudly display their names well past midnight, leading to abundant wastage of precious electricity. Civic authorities, supposed to preach through practice, continue with their extravagance merely for lack of initiative.

The city has over 2,000 high-mast lighting systems with varying heights, while innumerable streetlights exist on footpaths and medians. Each 30-metre-tall high-mast lamp houses about 18 high pressure mercury vapour metal halide bulbs of 400 watts each.

Each bulb consumes a unit of power every 2.5 hours putting the total consumption for each pole at about 7 units per hour. Consumption will be lower for the 20-metre, 14-metre and 11-metre lamp posts using lesser number of bulbs. The 250-watt bulbs are used for ordinary streetlights.

“GHMC can conserve about 50 per cent of the power if it wishes to.

Streetlights begin glowing well before the sunset, and continue throughout the day at places.

High-mast lights in areas of lesser traffic may be turned off after midnight.

The erection of such lamp posts itself is questionable at a few points,” a Divisional Engineer said on the condition of anonymity.

A few colonies in Saidabad and Chanchalguda still have the old tube lights glowing beside the newly erected lamps, he says.

Outdated lighting

The civic authority stands in dock for lack of vision too. The present system of lighting is far outdated compared to the latest in the market. Dimmer lamps, for instance, will get dim as the clock ticks past midnight.

Lamps equipped with sensors adjust their luminosity based on the natural light outside.

Hybrid lighting, though expensive, can switch between solar energy and the regular power supply depending on the sunlight.

Even the alternate lighting system, which enables the user to switch between two rows of lamps, is not actively pursued by the GHMC.

This is particularly applicable to flyovers where lamp posts stand exactly opposite to each other on either side of the road.

“We experimented with the idea of alternate lighting system at Abids for a week. It requires changes in the cable design.

Solar lamps need continuous maintenance and are ideal for isolated places,” says R.B. Devanand, the GHMC Additional Commissioner.

Illumination of hoardings presents another instance of power profligacy.

The city has about 1,700 hoardings and 100 unipoles that gobble up high doses of energy.

According to officials, bulbs used to light up the hoardings are of 500 watts each.

About eight to fifteen such bulbs are used to illuminate hoardings of various sizes. Stopping supply to them after a certain hour in the night will save up great amounts of energy.

This needs consultations among GHMC, CPDCL and other stakeholders.

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Andhra Pradesh