Residents in several area towns are being offered incentives to purchase compact fluorescent lights through a program set up to help consumers save on their electric bills.

Coupons offering discounts on the CFLs are being mailed to residents in the villages of Elmore, Pemberville, Oak Harbor, Genoa, Woodville, Bradner, Haskins, and the City of Bowling Green.

The towns are members of American Municipal Power, a non-profit organization that provides electrical power for municipalities.  An AMP program called Efficiency Smart offers services for members to lower their power bills by installing energy efficient equipment and systems.

The coupons can be redeemed for discounts - as much as 85 percent of the retail price – at stores that carry General Electric lighting products.

“In many homes, lighting represents 20-30 percent of the home’s energy use,” said Dave Hower, a member of the Elmore Board of Public Affairs. “The quality of CFLs has greatly improved over the past several years, and the product can be used in many applications, including outdoors, flood lights, recessed cans, and dimmable lighting locations.”

The coupons offer a discount value of $15 for at least seven CFLs. A list of stores accepting the coupons is posted on the website: efficiencysmart.org.

The offer expires Sept. 30.

Jackson Hale, retail efficient products market manager for Efficiency Smart, said the goal of the incentive is to get consumers to try CFLs during the summer. If residents are receptive, the program may be continued in the fall.

Concerns over mercury in the lights are “overblown” he said, adding it’s a trace amount.

“Certainly someone should handle a broken light with care when cleaning up,” Hale said. “ General Electric is getting the amount of mercury down to 1 milligram.”

He said the environment faces a larger danger from mercury spewed by coal-burning power plants.

“The less coal we can burn the better,” he said.

Efficiency Smart is offering several residential incentives, including recycling secondary refrigerators and freezers.  Qualifying residents receive $35 and free pick-up of their appliances.

“We’re trying to help people take electrical items off the grid and let them know they can live without that extra refrigerator or freezer, We know we’re not going to get the deer hunter who stores meat, but the others may want to.”

The refrigerator program has been going well in the Bowling Green area, he said.

In all, 48 communities are participating in Efficiency Smart.

The services offered by Efficiency Smart began in January and will continue through December 2013, according to terms of a contract between AMP and the Vermont Energy Investment Corp.

For information call 877-889-3777.

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