Bombarded by 200m eco-bulbs: Energy firms meet green targets with mass giveaway... and we all have to pick up the bill

Bad light: Over 200 million eco-lightbulbs have been send out by power companies

Energy companies have bombarded households with 200million free eco-lightbulbs despite warnings that many go unused.

The unsolicited energy saving bulbs were posted to customers over the last 20 months because junk mail campaigns were the cheapest way for firms to meet Government green targets.

One supplier sent out 12million over Christmas alone, clogging up the postal service at the busiest time of the year.



But many families have no need for yet more bulbs - with six unused low-energy ones already stashed away in drawers and cupboards of the typical home, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

The junk mail schemes - paid for by householders through fuel bills - allowed suppliers to meet their legally binding targets for improving home energy efficiency.

An average gas and electricity customer pays £38 a year towards subsidies for green projects, according to Ofgem.

The energy watchdog revealed the waste involved in free bulb mailing schemes after a Government ban on them came into force on New Year's Day.

Companies began their avalanche of lightbulbs in spring 2008 after ministers ordered them to invest in projects to improve home energy efficiency as part of a Government scheme designed to cut carbon emissions.

Suppliers were allowed to pick from a menu of power-saving measures - such as subsidised loft insulation or free cavity wall insulation for pensioners.

However, firms realised the cheapest way to meet the targets was by sending out millions of low-energy lightbulbs.

Under the rules, they were allowed to send up to two to each household without having to prove whether the bulbs were needed, wanted or used.

Customers were sent 182million bulbs between April 2008 and last November - most of them unsolicited. Some firms also chose to send the unpopular compact fluorescent bulbs which critics complain give out poor quality light.

In July, the Department for Energy and Climate Change announced it would ban unsolicited eco-bulbs because too many were left unused.



A report concluded: 'Government is increasingly concerned that the number of bulbs already distributed has been so high that it may work out at more than the average number of highest-use light fittings in a house.

'As such, there is an increasing risk to carbon savings under the scheme where bulbs are not used, are installed on low-use light fittings or replace existing low energy bulbs.'

But despite the looming ban, Britain's third biggest supplier npower sent out 12million more bulbs in November and December - bringing the total to almost 200million.

The company faced a £40million fine if it failed to meet its energysaving targets.

A spokesman denied npower was cluttering up homes with unwanted bulbs, saying: 'We want to make sure that npower customers don't miss out on a simple way to save energy and reduce their bills.'

'We're spending more than £ 350million on our energy- saving programme and free lightbulbs are only a tiny part of this.'

The DECC is also considering stopping energy firms funding subsidised lightbulbs in shops to meet their obligations under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme.

Ministers want to encourage companies to start focusing their efforts on subsidising insulation for customers instead.