10 MILLION BULBS FOR FREE (BACK PAGE, APRIL 28, 2010)

TEN million compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs have been released by the Ministry of Energy for free distribution nation-wide to replace the high energy consuming onion bulbs or incandescent lights.
The adoption of the new bulbs is expected to enable the country to save about 200 megawatts of energy under the second phase of the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation project.
The first phase of the programme, which was undertaken in 2006 and witnessed the distribution of six million CFL bulbs, saved the country 200 megawatts of electricity and helped to cushion the country against the 2007 power crisis.
Ms Enam Akoetey, the Director of reNew, a non-governmental organisation charged with registering communities countrywide for the free distribution of the bulbs, said they had an expected life span of over 10 years.
She explained that the CFL bulbs provided an energy efficient alternative to the incandescent lamp, using one fifth of the electricity incandescent lamps used to provide the same level of illumination.
She said the distribution of energy efficient bulbs would reduce peak load electricity consumption from residential units and help reduce demand on crude oil used in generating power from thermal sources.
She said stakeholders, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would be consulted on this life- transforming project and how to dispose of the energy efficient bulbs after their life span had expired because they were manufactured with mercury.
She said the Phillips Company, which manufactured the bulbs, had agreed to collect the disused bulbs back to the US after the project expired to prevent mercury from sipping into underground water.
She said waste disposal points would be created purposely for the CFL bulbs to coincide with the expiry date of the bulbs to ensure prompt collection and shipment to the US for final disposal.
Ms Akoetey warned consumers about the presence of fake CFL bulbs on the local market which could not last the 10-year life span of the original CFL bulbs.