Dominion beats goal of 150,000 bulbs

VIRGINIA - It only took a month for Virginians to surpass Dominion Virginia Power's goal of selling 150,000 energy-efficient light bulbs this fall.

Dominion has been subsidizing a discount on the bulbs at Home Depot stores in the state as part of a campaign to reduce energy usage and meet conservation goals. After quickly selling 197,609 light bulbs through the program, Dominion has already decided to increase its long-term sales goals and expand into more retailers.

Dominion covers a $1.50 discount on single bulbs and $3 on multi-packs of the compact fluorescent light bulbs, which last up to 10 times longer, but are more expensive than regular bulbs. Dominion estimates that a 60-watt energy-efficient bulb will save a typical Dominion customer $54 before it burns out.

The Dominion discount comes off automatically at the register at 33 Home Depot stores, including the locations on the Peninsula. Dominion initially wanted to sell 1.4 million bulbs by the end of 2008, but it now plans on announcing a higher goal and more participating stores for the program in 2008.