Alliance Calls for Only Energy-Efficient Lighting in U.S. Market By 2016, Joins Coalition Dedicated to Achieving Goal

Washington, D.C., March 14, 2007 – The Alliance to Save Energy today joined other energy-efficiency advocates and light bulb giant Philips Lighting North America in a coalition to advocate for policies that will transform the U.S. marketplace to energy-efficient lighting products by 2016. Philips Lighting Company, an Alliance Associate (member) is the world's largest manufacturer of light bulbs and lighting products.

It is the intent of the Alliance and the other founding coalition members to expand the group to include all stakeholders (i.e., manufacturers of both lighting fixtures and bulbs, trade associations, interested environmental and consumer groups and others) to ensure successful execution of this ambitious agenda.

Once completed, this market transformation will save consumers and businesses approximately $18 billion annually on electricity bills and save an amount of lighting energy equivalent to the power generated by 30 nuclear power plants (at 1,000 MW) or up to 80 coal-burning power plants (at 500 MW). In addition, energy-efficient lighting would avoid powerplant emissions of more than 158 million tons of carbon dioxide and 5,700 pounds of airborne mercury.

To achieve this ambitious goal, members of the Lighting Efficiency Coalition have pledged to push for government and utility incentives that would encourage consumers and businesses to replace their traditional incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient alternatives — including compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), improved energy-saving halogen bulbs, highly-efficient incandescents, and eventually new lighting technology such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The coalition will also advocate for wider use of higher-efficiency fluorescent lighting in commercial buildings and more energy-efficient street lighting systems.

To back up these incentives, the coalition will support technology-neutral performance standards that will work along with market forces to move the U.S. lighting market away from inefficient products and towards adoption of these and other energy-efficient alternatives.

“The Alliance to Save Energy is pleased to be part of this new coalition committed to advocating for public policies to speed the phase-out of inefficient lighting products by 2016,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “The economic, environmental, and national security benefits of such a market transformation include lower energy costs for consumers and businesses, less air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and extension of our nation's limited energy supplies.

“We applaud Philips Lighting Company for its leadership on this timely initiative, which builds on similar approaches in Europe, Australia, and recent proposals in California. To be successful, however, this effort needs to be industry-wide. In that light, the Alliance invites other lighting manufacturers, distributors, utilities, states, major building owners, and lighting design professionals — and of course consumers —– to work with us and our fellow energy-efficiency advocates to achieve this much-needed market transformation.”

“As chairman of the Alliance to Save Energy, I am a strong advocate for innovative ways we can increase energy-efficiency,” said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). “This coalition is a great example of how industry and government can work together and benefit both consumers and the environment.”

“Encouraging our customers to use advanced compact fluorescent light bulbs and other energy-efficient lighting is fundamental to our plans to meet growing demand for electricity as economically as possible,” said Jim Rogers, chairman, president, and CEO of Duke Energy, co-chair of the Alliance to Save Energy, and a corporate leader on energy efficiency."

We need to put utilities' support for these types of technologies on equal footing with our investments in power plants – so consumers, utilities, and the environment can all benefit when we 'save-a-watt' using energy-efficient light bulbs and other exciting new technologies. Encouraging customers to simply change out their light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs is one of the easiest and most effective things we all should do. Let's get to work and make it happen,” Rogers added.

In addition to the Alliance and Philips, members of the coalition include the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earth Day Network, and Californians Against Waste.