BILL ANALYSIS AB 722 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 31, 2007 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mark Leno, Chair AB 722 (Levine) - As Amended: May 30, 2007 Policy Committee: UtilitiesVote:9-3 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill, commencing July 1, 2010, phases in minimum energy efficiency requirements for general purpose incandescent light bulbs over a six-year period. FISCAL EFFECT The state may incur higher initial costs to purchase either compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs or more efficient, and potentially more expensive, incandescent bulbs. (According to the Department of General Services (DGS), over a recent two-year period, the state purchased about $100,000 worth of incandescent bulbs-about 200,000 bulbs assuming 50 cents per bulb.) These higher purchase costs would probably be more than offset by energy savings from the more efficient bulbs. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . According to the author, the purpose of this bill is to significantly increase the efficiency of indoor and outdoor lighting systems-thus saving energy costs and emissions of green-house gases. The bill phases in efficiency standards for general purpose light bulbs, based on light output, with the standards first applying in 2010 to general purpose bulbs equivalent to current 100-watt incandescent bulbs. The phase-in would gradually include general purpose light bulbs with lower light output (the equivalent of a 75- watt incandescent bulb in 2011, a 60-watt bulb in 2012, and a 40-watt bulb in 2016). According to the author, these standards would increase the efficiency of general purpose lighting by more than 65% compared to current incandescent bulbs. Current CFL bulbs are over 70% more efficient than AB 722 Page 2 incandescent bulbs. 2)Background . Almost 2% of all energy consumption in the state comes from incandescent bulbs. Approximately 95% of the power consumed by an incandescent light bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light, meaning that 95% of the electricity used when a light bulb is turned on is wasted. Light output is measured in lumens. A typical 60 watt incandescent light bulb will create 850 lumens, or close to 14 lumens per watt. A typical CFL bulb creates 950 lumens and uses only 15 watts of electricity, or 63 lumens per watt--a fourfold increase in efficiency. 3)Cost Comparison . The cost of an incandescent light bulb is about $0.50, and CFL bulbs are generally under $3.00 per bulb. However, the CFL lasts up to 10 times longer than a traditional incandescent light bulb-10,000 hours versus 1,000 hours. Based on an average California energy cost of $0.105 per kilowatt hour, the total energy cost of a incandescent light vs. a CFL over the life of a CFL is $78.75 vs. $21.00-an energy savings of $57.75 with the CFL. Combined with the difference in purchase price, taking into account expected life-$3 for a CFL versus $5 for ten incandescent lights-and the total savings per bulb is $59.75. Additionally, many power companies have begun providing CFL bulbs to their customers free or at reduced costs. Currently all three of the large investor owned utilities and many of the publicly owned utilities have programs to help reduce the costs of CFLs. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081