Residential LED Light Bulbs
St. Kitts – Nevis
October 11, 2014 (SKNIS)
Residents of St. Kitts and Nevis are expected to receive significant financial relief with the implementation of The Light Exchange and Distribution (LED) Programme, a collaborative initiative by the Ministry of Energy and the Sugar Industry Diversification Fund (SIDF).
This 10 week programme will see the replacement of all residential lighting with LED energy-efficient light bulbs that reportedly burn at 20 percent the energy of typical incandescent lights and last 40 times longer. These bulbs also use 8 percent less energy than compact fluorescent lights.
Prime Minster, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas said that the government’s goal is to make energy more affordable for consumers.
“We are doing this not only because it is our goal to use less oil-based energy with each passing year,” said the Prime Minister. “But because it is also our goal to have in our federation appliances and other products which use dramatically less energy. We are doing this because we are committed to ensuring that ours is a federation in which affordable, renewable, clean and reliable energy can be counted on.”
Lenrick Lake, Permanent Secretary, in the Ministry of Energy echoed the sentiments of the Prime Minister that he wishes to see St. Kitts-Nevis become the smallest green economy in the Western Hemisphere.
“We want all citizens to continue to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle where affordable energy plays an important role in achieving this. Our mission is to provide practical step by step assistance to citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, while educating them along the way in how energy can make their lives more affordable and comfortable.”
Cartwright Farrell, Chief Executive Officer for the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) Ltd, said that this programme not only revolutionizes the energy sector in the federation, but promises significant financial savings and allows consumers to better manage their energy usage.
“This is the way to go to keep an efficient island,” said Farrell. “Intelligent use of energy is just as effective as using renewable energy in the fight against high energy costs and our dependency on oil. We believe that this effort will put the power in the hands of the consumer as you will be able to manage your own power usage. Therefore, SKELEC commends the Government and SIDF for this project and are honored to be a part of it.”
The LED programme began distribution of the approximately 323 thousand bulbs on Tuesday (October 07) and will continue to mid-December. LED bulbs are non-toxic , projected to last up to 100,000 hours and are designed to produce far less heat than traditional incandescent light bulbs.