On January 30, the EU and the Ukrainian Government officially launched a program for households to exchange incandescent light bulbs for LED lamps. This is another step taken by the Government of Ukraine to overcome the energy crisis caused by russian missile strikes. The program provides for replacement of up to 50 million incandescent light bulbs, which should save the state electricity comparable to the capacity of one unit of an average nuclear power plant, as LED lamps consume 8 times less electricity than conventional old-style lamps.
This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during a live broadcast of the National Telethon at a press briefing dedicated to the launch of the lamp exchange program. The event took place at the Kyiv Central Post Office and was also attended by Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas and Ukrposhta’s CEO Ihor Smilyansky.
“The program will last for more than a month. We are starting with large cities and will gradually reach the smallest villages, where we will deliver the lamps by the end of this month or early next month. In total, we expect that by the end of February, Ukrainians of legal age will be able to exchange up to 20 million light bulbs at Ukrposhta offices. Such a simple thing as replacing incandescent bulbs with LED lamps will allow our power engineers to balance the system and reduce power outages, and for Ukrainians it is also an opportunity to save on bills and form new household habits, in particular, to consciously and economically consume electricity,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
According to Ukrenergo, up to 40% of energy is consumed by households. At the same time, many Ukrainians still use conventional incandescent light bulbs in their homes. A typical incandescent bulb consumes 60 watts per hour, while an average LED lamp of the same brightness consumes 7-8 watts, providing an average of 8 times the energy savings. According to energy experts, switching to LED lamps will help consume 7-10% less electricity during peak load times.
The First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the support of European partners in Ukraine’s struggle on both the military and energy fronts. Specifically, the European Union has announced its readiness to purchase 30 million LED lamps and will gradually transfer them to Ukraine free of charge. Another 5 million lamps will be provided by the French government. In addition, the EU is helping Ukraine not only with LED lamps but also with generators, financing for energy infrastructure repairs, energy saving projects, etc.
Regarding the program mechanism, Yuliia Svyrydenko said that every Ukrainian over the age of 18 would be able to exchange up to 5 old incandescent light bulbs for new economical LED lamps at Ukrposhta offices. To do so, one needs to apply through the Diia app and visit Ukrposhta after receiving confirmation of lamp availability. Those unable to use the app can simply come to a Ukrposhta branch, show their passport and identification code and exchange the lamps on a first-come, first-served basis. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)
