DWP Has the Bright Idea of Giving Away Light Bulbs : Energy: The utility will hand out--and screw in--millions of long-lasting ‘compact fluorescents.’ They are expected to save money in the long run.

This is the stuff of which jokes are made: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power wants to screw in a few million light bulbs and hire scores of conservation specialists to do it.

In an effort to conserve energy and forestall the building of expensive and polluting power plants, the DWP is offering to give away energy-efficient “compact fluorescent” light bulbs to any city resident who asks.

The DWP will even come out to screw them in “at strategic locations” around the homes of 1.3 million residential customers, officials said Tuesday. And when the expensive light bulbs eventually burn out, the DWP says it will replace them free.

The light bulbs are just one segment of a broad new energy-conservation effort that DWP officials say could eventually cost $80 million a year in staffing, education and research programs and in economic incentives to energy users.

“The (DWP) is today signaling its intention to become the electric industry’s leader in energy conservation,” said Mayor Tom Bradley. “They have accepted my challenge to become an environmental pacesetter for the decade of the 1990s.”

Officials said the program could begin as early as December.

The light bulbs--centerpiece of the DWP’s Residential Lighting Program--join a growing list of conservation devices that the giant municipal utility gives away.

Already the DWP will install for free a variety of residential water-saving devices, including low-tech toilet tank bricks, high-tech flush flappers and low-flow shower heads. The DWP even distributes seeds for drought-resistant plants.

The DWP also currently offers $100 rebates for low-flush toilets and is planning to offer a “cash bounty” on old, inefficient second refrigerators, officials said Tuesday.

The goal is to eliminate the need to build more power plants, said Eldon Cotton, assistant general manager for power at the DWP. And while the cost of the program could be high, DWP officials argue that it could save money in the long run by providing a lower-cost alternative to power plant construction.

“That’s a sure bet,” said Timothy Yau, manager of strategic planning at the Electric Power Research Institute, a utility industry trade group. “The DWP can hardly lose on that one.”

Yau said many other utilities nationwide are considering similar programs as part of long-range conservation efforts.

Power industry officials contacted by The Times said they knew of no other utility that is giving away light bulbs.

The DWP’s conservation program also includes working with commercial and industrial customers on design and construction of facilities, giving commercial and residential customers greater financial incentives to install energy-efficient appliances, and expanding the Residential Outreach Program in which DWP staffers visit homes to survey energy and water use and install energy-saving devices.

The new light bulbs are three to five times more efficient than standard incandescent light bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. They are also more expensive, retailing for $8 to $12 apiece.

The DWP anticipates adding $9.5 million to its conservation budget this year and adding 88 positions to its current conservation staff of 75.

Eventually the staff will grow to 250 workers.

That’s how many it takes to screw in a few million light bulbs.