Congress is working on new nationwide energy efficiency standards, which includes a lighting standard that could phase out incandescent bulbs in ten years. Energy legislation recently passed the Senate Energy Committee that already includes new efficiency standards for appliances and motor vehicles. John Fialka and Kathryn Kranhold of the Wall Street Journal report.

WASHINGTON -- Manufacturers and environmentalists are hammering out a nationwide energy-saving lighting standard that, if enacted by Congress, would effectively phase out the common household light bulb in about 10 years. That in turn could produce major cuts in the nation's electricity costs and greenhouse-gas emissions.

The new standard is expected to compel a huge shift by American consumers and businesses away from incandescent bulbs to more efficient -- but also more expensive -- fluorescent models, by requiring more light per energy unit than is yielded by most incandescents in use. The winner, at least in the near term, likely would be the compact fluorescent light bulb, or CFL.

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CAW is currently sponsoring AB 1109 (Huffman), which would set statewide energy efficiency goals by setting electrical consumption limits for lighting by 2018, equivalent to a 50% reduction for indoor lighting and 25% reduction in commercial and outdoor lighting from 2007 levels. To achieve these efficiency levels, the California Energy Commission would apply its existing appliance efficiency standards to include lighting products.

What You Can Do

• Write a letter of support for AB 1109.