If Pacific Islands Countries could improve the efficiency of their electric lighting, it would reduce not only their Green House Gas emissions but also reduce the cost of electricity, and boost their economies, according to a report that was published this month by the Pacific Community (SPC).

The report looks at the state of electric lighting in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) many of whom have inefficient types of electric lighting –incandescent lamps.

It highlighted the fact that by improving the efficiency of electric lighting in the PICTs is a cheaper, faster way to increase the electricity supply of an island than to build new power plants.

Titled "Pacific Efficient Lighting Strategy PELS 2016-2020", the report was prepared by the International Institute for Energy Conservation IIEC for the SPC. It covers 22 PICTs, which have a total population of over 10 million people; more than two-thirds live in Papua New Guinea. About 35% of the PICTs population live in households that have access to mains voltage electricity, supplied from either the grid or local generators.

The linear fluorescent lamps (vivid colourful fluorescent tube or lamp) are the most popular residential lighting type in PICTs.

Use of linear fluorescent lamps ranges from 22% in the Cook Islands to 95% in Papua New Guinea.

Inefficient incandescent lamps (an electric light, containing a filament which glows white-hot when heated by a current passed through it) account for between 2% and 28% of lamps, while in contrast, use of the more efficient CFL in varies from 1% in Papua New Guinea to as high as 48% in the Cook Islands.

Tonga

In Tonga 22% of household use more efficient CFL, while 50% use linear fluorescent lamps and 28% incandescent lamps. The high-quality, more efficient LED lighting products is not readily available in Tonga.

In the Cooks 5% of households use LED products and only 2% in PNG and 2% in Vanuatu are using them.

The report concludes that it is clear that policies and programmes focusing on upgrading commonly used out-of-date residential lighting technologies will be critical to the successful transformation of the lighting markets in PICTs.

There is a target to phase out incandescent lighting in PICTs by 2018.

The promotion of high-quality, more efficient LED lighting products will play an important role in ensuring a sustainable transition to efficient lighting in the Pacific, says the report.

In early 2014, SPC and the Pacific Efficient Lighting Strategy agreed to collaborate to achieve a regional transition to an efficient lighting within PICTs and to support policy-makers through the development and implementation of the Pacific Efficient Lighting Strategy with the financial support of the Australian Government.

The countries include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau and Wallis and Futuna.

Fiji is the only country in the PICTs with regulations in place for any category of energy-using equipment. In 2012 Fiji adopted the Australian and New Zealand standard (AS/NZS) energy-efficiency test methods, Minimum Energy Performance Standards MEPS and labelling programme for household refrigerators and freezers.

Tonga together with the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu agreed to adopt the AS/NZS MEPS requirements for incandescent lamps, CFLs, linear fluorescent lamps and ballasts, and aim to approve the MEPS requirement for these on-grid lighting products in 2016.