the film forum library tutorial contact

LADWP Gives Away 2 Million Light Bulbs by Staff KABC, April 2, 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power delivered its 2 millionth compact fluorescent light bulb to a L.A. home this week.

Since late January, teams have been delivering two of the energy saving bulbs, as well as tips on how to save even more power, to each of its 1.2 million residential customers.

The utility says it's getting a great response from its customers. The DWP plans to deliver another 400,000 bulbs through the program -- two bulbs to each customer.

LADWP CEO and General Manager David Nahai says customers have a personal incentive to use the energy saving bulbs.

"CFLs are one of the many tools our customers can use to reduce their energy use and save money on their electric bills," said Nahai. "By delivering CFLs right to our customers' doorsteps - in advance of the warmer months when energy use spikes - we can get a head start on serious energy conservation."

Using CFLs also helps fight global warming.

"Each CFL our customers install prevents the burning of 400 pounds of coal for energy generation and the associated greenhouse gas emissions," according to LADWP Acting Chief Financial Officer Jeff Peltola. "The bulbs that have been delivered so far represent 91.6 gigawatt-hours of energy savings per year, enough energy to power 15,267 homes each year."

The utility estimates each customer will save $100 in energy costs over the lifespan of the bulbs. The total energy savings is estimated at $61.3 million for the Department and ratepayers.

For more information, call the CFL distribution program phone line at (213) 367-4614.

Get more engery saving tips on the ABC7 Green page

Excerpt from bluefish.org's January 2008 comment to BPA's Residential Exchange comment period.

In asking for "significant new information that would inform this analysis" I have an item that I must here include. Upon reading a NW Power Council report on global warming gases I performed some calculations based on a Wal-Mart press release regarding the benefits of compact fluorescent bulbs.

With nearly 20 percent of all home electric costs stemming from lighting alone, CFLs can have tremendous benefits. Converting one conventional 60W bulb to a 13W CFL can save: $30 in electric costs over its lifetime; 10 conventional bulbs from being produced, transported and discarded in a landfill; 220 lbs. of coal from being burned; and 450 lbs. of greenhouse gases from reaching the air. The average home has more than 30 compatible sockets, which means even more potential savings.

After doing the math one finds that 22 million CFL bulbs would replace the average power output of the four Lower Snake dams. Upon discussing this result with the Northwest Energy Coalition I learned that 22 million CFLs would even replace the peaking capacity of these dams as lighting coincides with peak electricity needs. Now consider the BPA purchasing these bulbs and distributing them to their residential ratepayers. Notice that this costs substantially less than the "$400 million to $550 million a year to replace all the power capabilities lost through breaching the Lower Snake River dams."