Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development Christopher Yaluma has disclosed that government is considering gradually phasing out the importation and use of incandescent bulbs in order to move the country towards energy efficiency.
Mr. Yaluma said this is the reason why ZESCO Limited is distributing compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) which are regarded to be cheaper and serve energy efficiently.
The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by Energy Regulation Board Chairperson Geoffrey Mwape during the launch of Energy week exhibition at East Park in Lusaka today.
Mr. Yaluma said this programme has realized energy savings of about 94 Mega Watts (MW) from the distribution of over 1.6 million CFLs procured at the cost of about US$4 million.
He noted that 94 MW of energy saved from this programme alone is equivalent to a virtual power station which would otherwise cost government over US$300 million.
Mr. Yaluma said government spends a lot of money on investing in developing and rehabilitating the energy generation infrastructure to meet the growing demand.
He has since called on citizens to play a part in complementing government efforts in delivering better services for them through increased provision of energy services as consequences of saving energy at both individual and national level.
Mr Yaluma noted that government is also promoting the use of liquefied petroleum gas as an alternative to firewood and charcoal in order to contribute towards reducing deforestation and environmental degradation.
And European Union head of delegation Gilles Hervio said his organisation will continue supporting Zambia in the energy sector and other sectors of the economy.
Mr. Hervio said Zambia has potential to increase its power generating capacity to meet the demands and export to the neighbouring countries.
Minister please don’t do this in phases but with immediate effect. in the same vein, please ban plastic bags or at least lets begin paying for them.
@Ine Wine you are sport on. Government should immediately ban the use of plastic bags because the whole country is littered with plastics. I wonder why the Environmetal Council of Zambia is quiet about it. Lets revert to the use of ordinary papet carrier bags whose biodegradation is very low.
A serious combination of failures. Clueless Minister plus defunct ERB plus moribund Zesco. And in your honest wisdom,you think the country can move forward, you must be joking. I love our ministers but I am sorry when it comes to competence levels, nothing to write home about
Chinese are trading heavily in wood which they are exporting to China. Please protect our forests otherwise more droughts to come. Meaning no electricity.
I was in a queue in a supermarket when a woman in front of me bought some 100W incandescent bulbs. I almost stopped her from buying them but thought it would not be polite. If you switch on a 100W incandescent bulb for 10 hours this is 100×10= 1000Wh or 1KWh which is 1 unit of electricity but if you use a 5W energy saving bulb for 10 hours this is 5×10 = 50Wh or 50/1000 =0.05 unit of electricity. Imagine the savings in power if used on a country wide basis. No wonder incandescent bulbs have been banned in Europe but it continues making them for the African market.
These cheap electric bulbs are not good for reading . If you spend your leisure evenings drinking instead of reading , then it is more fun doing so under candle light. What you think you are saving in electricity bills will be lost in eye treatment.
Incandescent bulbs are a must in workshops with moving machine components . Substituting them is a fatal mistake.
People must be free to make an informed choice over which bulb to use , where and when.
Why not use a study lamp with an energy saving bulb?