Ukrainian Economy Ministry announces program of free exchange of incandescent lamps for LED lamps

MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - A program of free exchange of incandescent lamps for LED lamps will soon kick off in Ukraine, the Ukrainian media has quoted Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko as saying.

"Such a simple method as the replacement of incandescent lamps with energy-saving LED lamps will help us consume 7%-10% less electricity in peak hours. The Economy Ministry will soon issue a detailed guideline on how to get LED lamps. The mechanism will be very easy," Sviridenko said.

It is planned to replace about 50 million lamps both in households, in the public sector and in public utility agencies, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said on the sidelines of the Paris Solidarity Conference.

This can reduce the load on the power grid by 1 GW or 1.5 GW, while the current deficit of power grid capacity nears 2 GW, he said.

Preliminary agreements on the delivery of LED lamps have been reached with a French manufacturer, and France is ready to finance the delivery of 5 million lamps of the sort, Shmygal said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, for her part, that the European Commission would finance the procurement of about 30 million LED lamps for Ukraine.