Free bulbs - not such a bright idea after all

I took in a parcel for a neighbour over Christmas.  It was a free pack of energy-efficient bulbs, courtesy of npower.

That was good of them, I thought, an energy supplier doing their bit to help us save a bit of energy.  Helping people to not spend their money with you doesn't come naturally to most businesses.  

In 1997 I worked as an interpreter on an Overseas Development Agency project to build hydro-electric power stations north of Lima.  One day we went to an event where the local energy company was handing out T-Shirts with the slogan "Apagando un foco, ahorras un poco"  - roughly translated as "You'll save some money if you turn off your lights".

The UK engineer for whom I was interpreting thought this was a daft strategy - particularly for a recently-privatised energy company.  As you might expect, I disagreed.  It led to some interesting three-way discussions.  Whether they ultimately took more notice of me or him probably had more to do with economics than ecology.  Yet it's a good illustration of the tension that exists in any business which is involved in the consumption of natural resources on our behalf.  

So I was interested to read a piece in the Times today suggesting that npower's handout of 12 million energy-saving bulbs may not be such a great idea after all.  They were sent out to help the company to meet their legal obligation to cut carbon emissions - just before a new law comes into force which bans companies from mailing out unsolicited bulbs.

The problem is that research suggests that the average household has half-a-dozen unused bulbs in the cupboard under the sink.  So four more bulbs are unlikely to have the intended impact.  But they have helped npower meet their obligations, and thus avoid a fine of up to £40 million.

And, of course, free doesn't really mean free.  Companies are allowed to pass on the cost of these schemes to customers, through higher tariffs.  So we end up paying for bulbs we don't want, and which don't have the environmental impact that we so dearly need.  Cheers npower.

This story demonstrates how first steps very quickly need to become next steps when it comes to preventing runaway climate change.  Low energy bulbs are a good quick-win, and as my energy use monitor demonstrates, they do make a noticeable difference to your energy consumption.  But consumers, energy companies and governments now need to raise their game.  Sending out light bulbs is the easy, cheap bit, and it ticks the energy-saving boxes for the energy companies.  Yet it clearly isn't having the impact that the government intended when it set up the scheme.  

An npower representative, quoted in the Times, said:

"There is nothing under [the carbon emissions target reduction scheme] that means that we have to get evidence that the bulbs are being used.  It's up to the customer."

Which you may read as we've done our bit, not our problem Guv (or more accurately, Gov).  

If we're going to stop runaway climate change, businesses need to take more responsibility for the social and environmental impacts of their actions. Hopefully this will encourage/embarrass companies like npower, and Governments, to do more.  

Comments

[Gill Coupland]

Ah, now I understand, my brother, who works away for most of the week, came home to find a soggy box of lightbulbs on his doorstep which as a consequence of all the snow are neither use nor ornament now. He lives in a back to back in Beeston, a densely populated area of Leeds where literally thousands of these could have been distributed in a much quicker and cheaper campaign than say the leafy lanes of north Leeds ...