From Cleveland, Ohio television station WEWS:
FirstEnergy Bulb Giveaway To Cost Customers
Power Company Handing Out 4 Million Low-Energy Bulbs
FirstEnergy Corp. plans to provide nearly 4 million low-energy light bulbs to its residential electricity customers in Ohio.
Akron-based FirstEnergy said Monday that distribution will begin in mid-October. Two compact fluorescent light bulbs will be mailed or hand-delivered to residential customers of Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and Toledo Edison.
And the "free" part?
The cost of the program will be underwritten by customers, who FirstEnergy said can recover three times the cost through projected energy savings. Reports indicate that there will be a 60 cent charge on customers' bills for the next three years.
OK - I can buy these bulbs at Costco for about $3 each - the customer gets two of them and pays 60¢/month for three years. $0.60*12 = $7.20 * 3 = $21.60 - $6.00 = $15.60 Sure you will save some money but not much for only two bulbs. Your stove, refrigerator, air conditioner, television, computers, etc... consume a lot more so these two bulbs will have an effect of only a percent or two on your overall electrical bill. And to be charged Fifteen Bucks for the pleasure of using a bulb that only works in specific locations...
No thanks! We use a mix of Incandescent, CFL and LED bulbs. Places where color rendition are not important and where the light gets turned on and off again frequently (closets and bathrooms) get LED lamps. Reading and task lights get Incandescent (generally Halogen PARs) and everywhere else (and outside lighting) gets CFL. LED lamps will be the way to go but they have a long way to come before they will replace the other technologies.
I have been using these bulbs for five+ years! The only fixtures that I don't, I use a dimmer switch, or my porch light. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will phase out the most of the incandescent light bulbs in a few years! Yesterday we bought a 3 pack for 8 dollars. How am I to save paying 21.60 for 2 bulbs?
What a scam!!!! U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich better get this fixed. Whos getting the kickbacks on this one? Whats next? Are they going to force refrigerators, and other energy efficient appliances on us even though we don't need them and charge us over a period of years?