Russia may ban powerful incandescent light bulbs in 2011

Russia may ban the use and production of powerful incandescent light bulbs in 2011, Minister for Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina told reporters on Friday.

Speaking after a meeting in the city of Arkhangelsk, Nabiullina said the law banning powerful light bulbs may come into force in January 2011, Itar Tass reports.

To boost the efficiency of energy use, incandescent light bulbs with a capacity of over 100 watts will be banned from use both is households and industries, Nabiullina said.

This measure will help Russians save 10 to 20 percent of electricity costs.

In May, seeking to solve its energy issues, Tajikistan banned any use of ordinary incandescent light bulb in the republic, only allowing the use of energy-saving bulbs.

Greenpeace says that, over the past years, a number of EU countries have talked about bans on ordinary incandescent bulbs, but no concrete actions have been taken so far. The US passed a bill to ban the incandescent light bulb by 2014, and Australia announced an outright ban by 2010.