To help reduce your electric use, we’re giving away CFLs

Mississippi Power’s Energy Efficiency Team is gearing up for their own March madness with a month of CFL giveaways.

Employees will be setting up at offices across the service area to provide the customers a box of 10 compact fluorescent light bulbs.

“This will be our full-court press effort to provide customers with the tools and information they need to save energy and money on their electric bills,” said Ben Doughman, Energy Efficiency team leader.

CFLs have several advantages over incandescent light bulbs:

• CFLs last from 8-10 times longer, use about 75 percent less energy, and produce 90 percent less heat while delivering more light per Watt. For example, a 25 Watt CFL provides about 1800 lumens, compared to 1750 lumens from a 100 Watt incandescent lamp.

• CFLs save you money. One 20 Watt CFL (replaces a 75 Watt incandescent bulb) can save you $66 dollars over the life of the bulb (based on $.12 kWh). Replace one 100 Watt incandescent bulb with a 25 Watt CFL and save $74 dollars over the life of the bulb.

• Incandescent bulbs are inefficient; up to 95 percent of the energy used produces heat, not light. CFLs produce little to no heat, making them not only more efficient, but safer to handle. Additional savings from CFLs may be realized in reduced air conditioning cost.

A limited supply of bulbs will be available at each location listed below and distributed starting at 8 a.m. (unless another time is noted). The giveaways are limited to one box per account number and to customers who have not received bulbs at previous giveaways.

Customers must have their Mississippi Power bill or a confirmed account number to receive the box of CFL bulbs.

CFL Giveaway Schedule

March 7 – Newton, 1-4 p.m.
March 8 – Meridian
March 9 – Stonewall, 8-11:30 a.m.
March 9 – Quitman, 1-4 p.m.
March 10 – Bay St. Louis
March 14 – Pascagoula
March 15 – Gulfport
March 16 – Biloxi
March 17 – Wiggins
March 21 – Laurel, 8-11:30 a.m.
March 21 – Ellisville, 1-4 p.m.
March 22 – Picayune
March 23 – Poplarville
March 24 – Hattiesburg