Russia plans to ban the production and sale of all types of incandescent light bulb from Jan 1,2014, in a move designed to reduce energy consumption.
The ban will be the final stage in Russia's plan to phase out the standard,high-energy light bulbs and mirrors a move already under way in the European Union to switch toward less energyintensive lighting sources.
Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina told a news conference yesterday that making and selling incandescent bulbs with a power rating of more than 100 watts, which account for about 14% of all bulbs used in Russia, would be banned from Jan 1,2011.
From Jan 1,2013, incandescent bulbs with a power rating of more than 75 watts will follow suit.
Traditional incandescent bulbs have changed little since they were first commercially produced by Thomas Edison in 1879. Efficiency improvements reached a limit about 50 years ago.
European households are already switching to more efficient halogen, LED (light-emitting diode) and fluorescent CFL lamps. The European Union plans to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2012.
Industry bodies have said thousands of jobs in the European Union could be lost, mostly in eastern Europe, as the new regulations favour China-based manufacturers of CFL bulbs.
Other major light bulb manufacturers include General Electric Co, Philips,Toshiba Corp and Siemens unit Osram.
Light bulbs are also major consumers of tungsten, a hard metal used in the filament.
"As far as the second and third stages are concerned, the targets for 2013 and 2014, these will not be fixed rigidly in law," senior Kremlin economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich said at the same briefing."We need to see how the first stage works ... but I think this timetable is entirely realistic."
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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