Final Flicker for Traditional Bulbs?
Image: Arjo Lento/YLE
Saying goodbye to the old Tungsten bulb would mean a drop of one terawatt hour in national energy consumption, the bill's advocates claim.
Total energy usage in 2006 topped 90 terawatt hours and the annual anticipated rise in consumption is calculated at about two percent per annum.
Banning old fashioned light bulbs would bring about savings for domestic users of around 80 to 100 million euros annually and carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 200,000 to 300,000 every year, the proposal claims.
Currently the use of standard light bulbs accounts for 80 percent of energy used in the home for lighting. This is around one fifth of total domestic electricity consumption.
Under the terms of the bill, only energy-efficient lighting would be permitted after a three-year transition period ending in 2011.
Behind the proposal are seven Swedish People's Party and six Green League parliamentarians.
Australia has shown the way in energy efficient lighting, with standard bulbs set to disappear from shelves in 2010. Similar legislation is being planned by Germany, the US state of California and the Canadian province of Ontario.
YLE