BY THE end of this fiscal year, some 182 police stations across the island will be retrofitted with energy saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
The programme was initiated by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica in 2004, based on concerns regarding the high electricity bills in the public sector.
In an interview with JIS News, Group Managing Director of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Ruth Potopsingh explained that 81 of the approximately 182 police stations have already been retrofitted with 731 CFLs, at a cost of approximately $250,000.
She pointed out that Jamaica was 90 per cent dependent on imported petroleum and in 2005 the country's energy bill was US$1.2 billion. "Jamaicans cannot afford to waste energy," she stressed. "We can use less but we can also use energy more efficiently, like using CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs," she noted.
Mrs. Potopsingh acknowledged that all agencies of government along with persons who are employed by these agencies, could play their part in making the country's development a sustainable one. "Our energy habits can affect the entire economy, as energy affects every aspect of our lives," she pointed out.
LOWER ELECTRICITY BILLS
She explained that in the effort to achieve sustainable development, the use of CFLs would result in reduced electricity bills, as they were four times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. She said although the cost of a CFL was $300, compared to an incandescent, which could be bought for $30.00, the average lifespan of an incandescent bulb was 750 hours compared to 10,000 hours for a CFL.
