A government subsidy of more than 30 percent is to be offered to promote the use of energy-efficient lighting products in China, which aims at reducing power use by 29 billion kilowatt hours by 2010.

In order to replace the country's widely used incandescent light bulbs and other low-efficiency lighting products, the Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) jointly launched a program to promote the use of 150 million energy efficient lighting products nationwide, according to a circular released by NDRC on Monday.

The government would offer a 30-percent subsidy on wholesale purchases and 50 percent on retail sales. The circular did not specify quantities that would qualify for the subsidies.

The government will subsidize manufacturers that bid the lowest supply price for the program.

Consumers would be encouraged to buy energy-efficient bulbs because the manufacturer would sell them at a discount equal to the subsidy.

The energy efficient lighting products manufacturers should meet national energy-saving requirements and have well-established after-sales services. The list of these enterprises and the product prices should be decided through opening bidding process later, said the NDRC.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2008)