80,000 street lights to be replaced with LED bulbs

• Project worth Rs. 108 crore, global tenders invited
• MCC to save 40 to 55 percent of Rs. 28 crore spent annually on street lights

Mysore/Mysuru: The 2015-16 proposal of the State Government to replace conventional street lights with energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights in Mysuru will soon become a reality as the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has invited global tenders to replace over 80,000 street lights across the city including 2,300 bulbs along the 42-km Outer Ring Road (ORR). 

With an intention to save on energy costs, the Government, during its 2015-16 Budget, had proposed to replace conventional bulbs including tube lights, high-pressure sodium, mercury vapour, and metal halide lights (halogen lamps) with LED bulbs in City Corporations outside Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and had selected Mysuru for the pilot project. 

Accordingly, the Government issued an order in 2018 to implement the project on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The project aims to provide sustainable and energy efficient smart lighting. Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, MCC Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde said that the Government had already released Rs. 108 crore for the project. 

There are over 80,000 street lights and more than 20,000 poles across Mysuru city and every year, the MCC spends Rs. 28 crore to maintain the bulbs and also foot the electricity bill. “Once the project is realised, we will be able to save Rs. 12 crore to Rs. 15 crore per year. The Rs. 108 crore will be a working capital for MCC and every year, the money saved from the project has to be paid back to the Government,” he explained. 

Tenders to be opened on Jan. 20

Global tenders for the project has been called on Dec. 19 and the tenders will be opened on Jan. 20. The response is good and a qualified bidder will get the tender. “Works will start immediately and we aim to complete the LED lighting project by Dec. 2021,” he said and added that the firm that bags the tender will have the responsibility of operating and maintaining the system for seven years. 

Though LED street lights cost more up front, reduced costs for energy and maintenance over the working life of LED street lights mean they can pay for themselves in longer run, he explained. 

Mysuru, a first city

Mysuru was not selected under the Central Government’s Smart City project despite the city bagging India’s Cleanest City title twice. This had riled up former Mayors, prominent personalities and opinion makers of Mysuru. If a city is selected under Smart City project, LED lighting project comes automatically to the city. 

A delegation of former Mayors, cutting across party lines, exerted pressure on the Government to at least sanction LED lighting project to Mysuru. The Government agreed as Mysuru had already been selected for the pilot project. “Mysuru is the first city in Karnataka where the LED project is being implemented despite not being selected among the Smart Cities,” Gurudatta Hegde revealed. 

Centralised Control System: The project will be implemented with a Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) with smart meters and Internet of Things (IOT) controllers. This enables integration of all LED lamps and they can be operated remotely through wireless communication. 

MCC Superintending Engineer Biligiri Rangaswamy told SOM that CCMS enables MCC engineers to operate, control, monitor and rectify the integrated LEDs remotely via wireless communication.

 “The system works on a node-and-hub model where each LED lamp is connected (geo-tagged) to a controller and metering unit — a smart meter. 

The data collected is transmitted to the centralised hub for efficient control and monitoring. A Control Room will be established at the MCC Office and operators will be stationed there,” he explained.