Farmers worry ban on incandescent bulbs will impact operations

Delrose Newman is a small-scale poultry farmer from Redwood district in St Catherine.

During the brooding season, when broiler chicks need extra care and attention to maintain their health and survival, she utilises incandescent light bulbs as a heat source rather than the light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs – which do not provide warmth, and are only used to illuminate the poultry houses in her enterprise.

Newman is one of many small-scale farmers who choose to forgo the pricey heaters used by commercial growers in favour of a less expensive option. But soon, she will have to seek an alternative source of heat for her chicks.

Last year October, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz announced Cabinet approval of a ban on incandescent bulbs. The ban prohibits the importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and purchase of the bulbs effective April 1, 2023.

Additionally, the Cabinet agreed to the introduction of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for lighting technologies with wattages ranging from 25 to 75, starting on April 1, 2023, and 2027, respectively.

As part of the ministry’s phase-out process, businesses will have until April 1, 2024, to sell and deplete their existing inventory of incandescent light bulbs in order to comply with the new regulations.

The move, Vaz noted, was the Government’s way of ensuring that the country was operating more energy-efficient and decreasing its carbon impact.

He stated that this could save Jamaica about J$1.3 billion per annum.

Concerns have been raised, however, that not many Jamaicans are aware of this move by the Government, and Newman is among them.

Last week, the poultry farmer told The Sunday Gleaner that she was oblivious about the ban and fears that if enforced, it has the potential to negatively affect her business, which currently boasts 100 broiler chicks.

“When it come into the cold time, the winter season, I realise that the chicken dem bundle up on each other when I was using the next one (LED bulbs), like they trying to get some heat from each other. But using the (incandescent) ones, they don’t bundle ... as it’s something to warm them, so it makes a difference using it,” she explained.

If the bulbs were to become unavailable nationwide, Newman said she might just have to return to utilising LED bulbs, which would not be effective.

“There is no other means of getting them (the chicks) warm than the bulb,” she said, noting that using a tarpaulin covering would not be enough to trap heat in the poultry houses.

MANY AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES

However, Winston Thomas, regional sales manager at Nutramix Feeds, informed The Sunday Gleaner that there are several alternatives to the incandescent bulbs to keep chicks warm.

He said many farmers were transitioning from incandescent light bulbs to LED and fluorescent bulbs without realising that the incandescent bulb’s primary function was not for providing a light source but was typically used as a heat source.

“An LED bulb will never do that for you, so putting in an LED bulb doesn’t help you with keeping your birds warm,” he said, confirming issues raised by Newman.

He said farmers can use 250-Watt heat bulbs, sold for approximately $1,000 each, where one bulb can warm 75 to 100 birds.

For those who may not be able to afford an Alke brooder – which produces a source of heat after being lit – farmers could return to traditional techniques of cutting metal drums in halves and filling them with charcoal to be lit at nights, radiating heat throughout the poultry house, he advised.

“So there are many ways to do it, but the bottom line is they need to keep the birds warm,” he said.

Thomas said that because there are so many affordable alternatives available, he does not expect the ban to have a detrimental impact on small-scale farmers.

Two representatives from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) told The Sunday Gleaner that while they have been aware of the ban since last year when the energy ministry circulated a paper for discussion and requested their input, they have not received any communication from the ministry requesting RADA’s assistance in disseminating educational material to the farmers.

PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME NEEDED

Lenworth Fulton, president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), said he was in support of “every move that we make to save energy”, but noted that he has not seen the “manifestation” of the ban.

“We have a country that sometimes does not do proper management. If you have a ban, then the ministry that does the ban should do [an assessment] and let us know if it is working,” he said.

Fulton further indicated that he has not seen any effective data being circulated to help notify the public, but noted that this did not mean that the information was not being made available.

“What I would like to see is a public education programme, probably over JIS (Jamaica Information Service) or some Government station, to say what is happening,” he said, adding that JAS, RADA, the 4-H clubs and farm supply stores like Hi-Pro and others will have to print brochures and give farmers as a way of easily educating them.

“When they come to buy the chicken, you educate them same time and offer the best source of heating for them to buy for them to grow their chicken,” Fulton shared.

MINISTRY BELIEVES JAMAICANS WILL COMPLY

According to the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, a public education campaign will be undertaken via mainstream and social media to educate Jamaicans on the impact of the ban on incandescent light bulbs and how it would affect them.

On the ministry’s social media page, three posts were made in April and one in May where a representative took to the streets of Half-Way Tree in St Andrew to quiz citizens. Locals were asked if they could identify – of the two light bulbs shown to them – which one was an incandescent bulb. In another instance, they were asked if they could state two benefits of using LED bulbs, earning persons a prize of $1,000 and a free LED bulb if the response was correct.

In an email response to enquiries from The Sunday Gleaner, last week the energy division of the ministry said there will be no penalties for the ongoing sale or purchase of standard incandescent light bulbs during the first year to facilitate compliance.

“It is important to note that the draft regulations do contemplate fines or imprisonment for contravening the phase out of standard incandescent light bulbs. However, the process of finalising these regulations is subject to review and inputs from the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. Once the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has completed the regulations, they will have to be approved by the Houses of Parliament and subsequently published in the Gazette.”

For businesses that are exempt, they now need special licences and permission to import or buy incandescent light bulbs under the Trade Act, as Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce, can grant exemptions by way of an order or by other permits outlined in the regulations. However, the draft regulations do contemplate a timeframe for the removal of exemptions.

The energy ministry also noted that they were currently not tracking the level of compliance by businesses and consumers as “this would be very difficult to do and take extensive resources to ascertain with very little, if any, benefit”.

The ministry further indicated its confidence in the citizenry, stating that “we believe Jamaicans will comply with the laws of the country and stop using incandescent light bulbs”.

CUT ENERGY USE BY 85%

In 2018, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) decided to begin the process of outlawing incandescent lighting to encourage energy efficiency, safeguard customers from buying inefficient light bulbs, and provide tangible energy savings.

Just recently, on August 1, the United States banned the sale of common incandescent bulbs. According to CNN Business, the law, which requires light bulbs to emit a minimum of 45 lumens per watt, was approved by President Joe Biden’s department of energy in April 2022.

This ultimately forbids the manufacturing and distribution of the incandescent bulbs, which are said to provide approximately 15 lumens per watt.

In contrast, the majority of LED bulbs provide 75 lumens per watt, or more.

The Jamaica Public Service and the then Ministry of Science, Energy, and Technology conducted studies on the use of incandescent bulbs in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

According to the studies, replacing 60-Watt incandescent bulbs in the home with nine-Watt LED bulbs could cut energy use by 85 per cent.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com