IZUNNA OKAFOR
Anambra State Commissioner for Power and Water Resources, Engr. Julius Chukwuemeka, has said that days were gone for diesel-powered streetlights in the State.
Engr. Chukwuemeka stated this in an interview with this reporter in Awka, during which he also revealed that the State Government had long begun to convert the diesel-powered streetlights in the state to solar-powered streetlights.
According to him, about seven thousand (7000) diesel-powered streetlights in the state were converted to solar in the First Phase of the exercise, while the ongoing Second Phase targets conversion of over eleven thousand (11,000) diesel-powered streetlights to solar. He added that by the time the Second Phase of the exercise would be completed, over eighteen thousand (18,000) streetlights must have been converted to solar.
The Commissioner dismissed as irrelevant, the speculations by some residents of the State who claim that the lifespan of the solar streetlights does not exceed two years, after which they will be dismantled and replaced with new ones.
While describing purveyors of such argument as either those benefiting from the corruption and wastefulness associated with the diesel-powered streetlights in the state or those who are still wallowing in primitivity; Commissioner Chukwuemeka hinted that such arguments and speculations are only but lies that hold no water.
According to him, hundreds of millions of naira were being spent on monthly basis on purchase of diesel for the streetlights in the state in the past, before the current administration of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo thought it wise to save the State such humongous expenses by introducing the solar-powered streetlights.
He revealed that part of the basic reasons behind the ongoing conversion of the diesel-powered streetlights in the state to solar was because of the cost effectiveness of the solar streetlights, which, he said, would enable the government to cut down cost and expenses it incurs in maintaining streetlights across the State and re-channel the resources to some other developmental projects that will help to improve the welfare and the living standard of the masses.
“And, looking at what is happening now, if you compare the price of petroleum products today with what it used to be in the past, you would see that Anambra State Government would have been spending around one or two billion naira every month in maintaining the streetlights in the state,” he added.
Other reasons for the conversion, according to him, include the eco-friendly nature of solar-powered streetlight, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations, as it turns on and turns off by itself at set time, unlike the diesel-powered streetlights that must be turned on and off by individuals, without which the whole street would be in darkness at night.
Elaborating more on the eco-friendliness of the solar-powered streetlights, the Commissioner said: “The entire world has been talking about how we can make our energy generation to be renewable and eco-friendly in a way that it will emit, possibly, limited pollution to the environment, because if you look around at what is happening now, you will see so many effects of global warming hitting the earth.
“For instance, the flooding which we witness almost every year in this part of the world is as a result of global warming, because one of the effects of global warming is that the ice in the sea banks will melt; and, when this happens you will see that the sea banks will increase. And, that increment is what causes the flooding that we are witnessing here.”
While reiterating Governor Soludo’s vision for a green and liveable Anambra, the Commissioner said: “In Anambra State Ministry of Power and Water Resources, one of our emphases is to ensure that we generate energy that will be cleaner, sustainable and environmental friendly. And this conversion of our streetlights to solar is a step towards achieving that”.
He revealed that it was the money that ought to be used to fuel the streetlights that is being used to convert them to solar.
With reference to Okpoko Road where he said the State Government was currently installing over five hundred new solar streetlights, Engr. Chukwuemeka further added that new streetlights subsequently being installed on Anambra roads are all solar-powered.
“That is to say that days are gone for diesel-powered streetlights in Anambra State,” he said