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Let Us Be Environment Friendly In This Diwali By Use Solar Energy
- Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh
Writer, Author & Social Activist
Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"
( इस दीपावली करिए कुछ अलग ढंग से रोशन अपना घर यानी सोलर लाइट्स से)
Do you know how much coal is used to generate electricity? At present, 70 percent of the electricity in the country is produced from coal. All the power stations in the country consume about 920 million tonnes of coal a year. 500 to 850 grams of coal is burnt to produce 1 unit of electricity. 1 MW means 24000 units of electricity i.e. 18 to 20 tonnes of coal is consumed to produce one MW of electricity. Whereas every Diwali we burn about 100 to 350 MW of additional electricity. This thing is neither eco friendly, nor climate friendly nor household budget friendly. So why not do something this time in which we do not have to pay huge electricity bills and we can also save from the damage caused to the climate by the exorbitant expenditure of electricity. Yes, we can use solar energy for electrical decoration of our home.
In every year we consume lots of electric power during celebration of our festival like Diwali. After the festival we pay heavy bill of electricity. Actually the festival of terracotta lamps means festival of Diyas has converted in electric decoration festival. Many people take electric series on rent and many others buy them. After the festival all the series become unusable. Even though we think that all those electric series will be used for decoration again next year but it does not happen. Every year we have to buy a new series. So why not do something this time in which we do not have to pay huge electricity bills and we can also save from the damage caused to the climate by the exorbitant expenditure of electricity. Yes, we can use solar energy for electrical decoration of our home.
It is necessary to look at some old figures of electricity expenditure of some cities of the country on Diwali. About six years ago, a newspaper survey found that more than 35 lakh power units were spent on Diwali decorations in Hisar district of Haryana alone on the occasion of Diwali. Most of the electricity expenditure was in the big showrooms, factories, hospitals and hotels located in the district. Usually more than ten strings of LED bulbs were used in every house to light up the houses on Diwali. Apart from this, the houses were also illuminated on this occasion through bulbs and other electrical appliances. Along with this, the devices used to light permanently in the houses were also kept burning throughout the night on the occasion of Diwali. Usually, an average of 200 watts of wire and other equipment were installed in a house. Due to which two units of electricity were spent in ten hours. From Dhanteras till the day after Diwali, houses are lit. Thus, eight units were spent in each house for this light for four days. Accordingly, 28 lakh units were spent on illumination. On the occasion of Diwali, the power consumption usually increases by 50 percent in the race of lights. That is why on an average, 20 lakh units per day electricity consumption in the district increased in these four days to about 10 lakh units per day additional expenditure.
A data from Indore for the year 2017, that year the people of the city spent an additional 55 MW to illuminate their homes and cities on Diwali. On Diwali, more than daily electricity was spent in MP West Zone Electricity Distribution Company area. Additional consumption was recorded at 550 MW at all district headquarters of the region.
Look at the figures of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh in the year 2019. In 2019, people of the city used one and a half times more electricity than normal in a race to keep houses, establishments and markets lighted on Diwali. 30 lakh units of electricity per month are spent on all the nine sub-stations of 33 KV capacities in the district headquarters alone. According to this, the people of the metropolis burn about one lakh units of electricity daily on normal days, but during Diwali, an average of 1.48 lakh units of electricity was consumed. Even in some areas of the country's feeders, electricity consumption had doubled from normal.
Now talking about 2021, on Diwali in Rajasthan, the demand of the entire state was reduced by 1 hour of electricity. The Chief Minister had clear instructions not to cut power on Diwali, so 60 lakh 39 thousand units of electricity had to be purchased from the Rajasthan Energy Development Corporation from the market through electricity exchange. That average rate was Rs 2.87 per unit. Accordingly, electricity worth Rs 1 crore 73 lakh 31 thousand 930 had to be purchased. Interestingly, on the day of Diwali, due to holidays in the industries and factories, the work remained closed and electricity was not spent, yet the electricity used in the houses made the Energy Development Corporation and the Electricity Department from seller to buyer. During Diwali, electricity had increased to about 2 thousand MW in a week itself. Due to which the gap between power availability and demand widened. The production of electricity in the state is limited, due to which the work had to be done by buying regular electricity. The week before Diwali, the highest demand for electricity during peak hours was 10500 to 10870 MW, which increased from 12 thousand MW to 12200 MW on Diwali. The tragedy is that electricity cannot even be stored in large quantities. Buying from the power exchange or cutting power, these are the only two ways left if there is no full production of our own.
Now let's talk about Madhya Pradesh, where the price of electricity has been increased by 10 paise per unit in the beginning of October this year. Actually this increase is at the rate of 10 paise in fuel cost adjustment. After this, consumers will now have to pay 20 paise fuel cost adjustment instead of 10 paise per unit. However, those consuming up to 100 units of electricity will have to pay only Rs 100 at present because the government compensates for this by giving subsidy to the power companies. If you consume up to 200 units of electricity here, then you will have to pay Rs 22 more from October 2022. Therefore, it is better to take measures to keep the domestic consumption of electricity within 100 units and save the environment while being eco friendly.
These days, decorative items of solar lights are available in the market. They will be charged with sunlight throughout the day and will start lighting up as soon as darkness falls. Some of these are long durable instruments and some are use and throw ones which will not need to be saved after Diwali. One unit of electricity generation costs half a kilo of coal. Just imagine how much effort it takes to get this coal out of the mine? How much pollution is caused by burning it? So the cost of one unit of electricity is much more than what we pay. Even though we have coal and electricity is also sufficient but still conservation of energy is the moral obligation of every citizen. By burning electricity wildly and without thinking, we spread pollution and also increase the danger for the coming generation. While countries like Germany have stopped using coal, we also have to become aware keeping in mind the coal production and pollution caused by it. The more we can reduce the level of pollution, the more we can make our life and our happiness longer. Therefore, by saying bye-bye to traditional source of lights for decoration, now we should adopt solar lights. With this we will be able to celebrate eco friendly, climate friendly and pocket friendly Diwali.
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(16.10.2022)
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