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Rs eight billion can be saved annually:
Switch to CFL and save- Minister
Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE
Sri Lankan households can save Rs eight billion annually on their
electricity bills by using energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs),
Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said.
The Minister addressing a public awareness program regarding the
energy efficiency rating system for CFL bulbs recently in Colombo, said
people should use energy efficiency electrical appliances considering it
as a national task. Consumers can mainly use CFL bulbs instead of high
power consuming tungsten bulbs for lighting up houses. By doing so any
domestic user can save 12 to 15 per cent energy on their monthly
electricity bill. As a whole the country can save 400 GWh annually,
which equals to Rs eight billion.
"This amount equals to the annual Samurdhi allocation. The Government
spends Rs nine billion on Samurdhi " Minister Ranawaka noted.
The Minister said the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) spends Rs 10
billion annually on diesel for power generation. At the same time the
CEB is running at a loss. According to CEB statistics last year's loss
was Rs 11 billion.
"It is clear that if domestic users can turn to energy efficient CFL
bulbs, the CEB can reach the break even point or save the funds spent on
diesel burning power generation," the Minister added. The Minister
pointed out that it is important to identify the energy efficiency ratio
of CFL bulbs when purchasing. The Sri Lanka Standards Institute has
formulated an energy efficiency rating system for CFL bulbs. The energy
saving rating system begins with a star and goes up to five stars. For
instance if a CFL bulb has five stars it has a maximum energy efficiency
for star bulbs. If there is one star, energy consumption is high. In
otherwords, when there are more stars the energy consumption is less.
Therefore, customers should purchase CFL bulbs which have more stars.
No CFL bulb brands can be sold without having at least a single star.
The energy consumption ratio will also be introduced for other
electrical appliances in the future, the Minister added.
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