Mayor Burke Statement On Trump Administration’s Rollback Of Lightbulb Efficiency Standards

From City of Medford:

September 6 2019

In an effort to benefit a few large businesses and at the expense of American consumers as well as the climate, the Trump Administration has pushed back a plan to phase-out of inefficient, incandescent, and halogen light bulbs by 2020. This plan was approved by Congress in 2007, and in anticipation of the deadline, most manufacturers have moved on from the technology used to produce standard light bulbs.

These standards drove the development of more reliable, less expensive energy-efficient light bulbs, such as our current LED technology. In Medford we have upgraded to LED fixtures both in our buildings and for our streetlights saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

The action of the Trump administration will certainly result additional cost to consumers of more than $100 per year on energy bills, adding up to a total of $14 billion annually as of 2025. That is equal or more than 25 power plants’ worth of electricity annually.

“In another short-sighted effort, the Trump Administration is trying to save residents pennies on lightbulbs which will significantly increase their electric bills over the lifetime of these products. Of greater detriment is that this rollback will exacerbate an already critical climate crisis, said Mayor Stephanie M. Burke

This press release was produced by City of Medford. The views expressed here are the author’s own.