Let's just see if we can give you the facts, just the facts, about the 2011 Avista Utilities compact fluorescent lightbulb program. We'll go retro and adopt the Five Ws approach:

Who:  Every one of the 350,000 residential households who are Avista power customers in Washington and Idaho. 

What: The free kit of eight compact fluorescent lights (CFL) that are being mailed to those houses. 

When: Now through November 2011.

Why:  a) Because a 2006 voter-approved law requires Avista to set target reductions in energy use, including conservation and energy reduction. CFLs help do that in a lasting way.

          b) Because Avista has been setting aside a monthly surcharge or tariff it collects on residential customers. It's about $3 per month, on average.

           That's the source for the roughly $7.5 million it's costing Avista to buy and mail the kits.

Where:  Eastern Washington and North Idaho, excluding all of Avista's business customers.

For more information, go to the Avista FAQ on the bulbs, at this link.

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