More National/World

• Congressman is indicted
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Sen. Jeff Bingaman wants to rid store shelves of energy-guzzling incandescent light bulbs in seven years.

But Sen. Pete Domenici has misgivings, which could further complicate the task of getting an energy bill through Congress this fall.

Bingaman, the Silver City Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Domenici, the Albuquerque Republican who is the ranking minority member, held a hearing Wednesday on Bingaman's light bulb bill.

The measure would phase out the ordinary light bulb between 2012 and 2014 in favor of compact fluorescent lights and other high-efficiency lights.

The energy savings could be enormous. Lighting consumes a fifth of the electricity produced in the United States.

Of the 1.7 billion bulbs sold in the United States in 2006, 1.5 billion were incandescent bulbs and 200 million were the costlier, but more efficient, compact fluorescents.

If every homeowner replaced just one old bulb with one compact fluorescent, the nation would save enough electricity to light 300 million homes a year, testified Alexander Karsner, the assistant secretary of energy for energy efficiency.

The House has already passed a similar light-bulb mandate as part of its energy bill, and Bingaman said he would like to include it as part of the final energy bill to be hammered out in House-Senate negotiations.

"I do think this is a great opportunity in this Congress to go ahead and get this done," said Bingaman.

But those negotiations have yet to get under way and there are major differences. The Senate bill mandates an increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks; the House bill does not. The House bill would require utilities to obtain 15 percent of their power from renewable resources, like wind and solar; the Senate bill does not.

Domenici indicated Wednesday that he is not ready to support including the light-bulb mandate, which could jeopardize Republican support for a final bill in the Senate.

The energy savings would be "impressive," but consumers must continue to have more than one product to choose from, including energy-saving halogen and LED light bulbs, said Domenici.

Compact fluorescents are made in China and assembled by hand, he noted. And they contain mercury, so Congress will have to address their safe disposal, he said.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association is supporting the phase-out of incandescent bulbs but wants until 2015 to give U.S. companies more time to adjust.