No enforcement funding means 100-watt bulbs given temporary reprieve

VIEWPOINT How to grow the economy more quickly Anthony Ahern, President & CEO

January 27th Issue

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Mission Statement “To safeguard, enhance and optimize the environment for electric cooperatives operating in the State of Ohio.”

Rumors about the death of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs proved to be politically exaggerated — at least for the time-being.

In a last-minute deal designed to keep the federal government operating until the end of the current fiscal year, Congressional Republicans inserted a rider that stripped funds for the Department of Energy (DOE) to enforce new lighting efficiency standards.

Technically, the standards set by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) are unaffected. Only the ability to enforce the first phase, requiring the improved efficiency of traditional 100-watt bulbs, has been delayed.

Eventually, all light bulbs will have to meet the new efficiency targets. The schedule called for manufacturers to meet EISA standards with 100-wattt bulbs by Jan. 1, 2012. The 75-watt bulbs must comply by January of 2013, while 40- and 60-watt bulbs have until January of 2014.

Stocks of older bulbs can be sold after the standards take effect as long as they aren’t manufactured or imported after the deadlines.

In addition to the mandate for bulbs to become 25 percent more efficient, EISA 2007 also calls for the packaging in which bulbs are sold to carry labels listing brightness, annual operating costs and expected life span.

Although the DOE lacks funding to enforce the standards because of the budget rider, another agency has free rein to ensure that labeling rules are followed. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) immediately will police new labeling rules, ensuring that packaging meets EISA 2007 requirements.

These include front labels listing brightness ratings (in lumens, not watts) and estimated energy cost per year.

Back-of-package labeling features a list of lighting facts modeled after the nutrition facts found on food packages. The information includes brightness in lumens; estimated annual energy cost; life expectancy based on three hours daily use; light appearance (for example, warm or cool); wattage; and mercury content, if applicable.

Because legal production of traditional 100-watt incandescent bulbs was due to be phased out in 2012, they were not included in the FTC’s package labeling requirements. Also exempted were 75-watt incandescent bulbs, which must meet the new energy efficiency standards in 2013.

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