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Sierra Pacific Power is helping the Veterans Guest House in Reno lower its monthly electricity bills by replacing the facility's incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).

Volunteers from the utility will replace the bulbs at the guest house on Nov. 8 in recognition of Veterans Day, which will be celebrated this year on Saturday, Nov. 11, with parades and other events in northern Nevada, including a 1 p.m. open house and celebration of Women Who Have Served Our Country at the Veterans Guest House.

"Replacing the incandescent lights will result in an annual energy savings of approximately 3,091 kilowatt hours, or $385 per year for the guest house, or a savings of $2,809 over the lifetime of the bulbs,"said John Hargrove, project manager of energy efficiency and conservation for Sierra Pacific. 

"We are always looking at doing things to reduce our operating costs. This project with Sierra Pacific's lighting program is expected to do just that while still maintaining the quality of lighting for our veterans and their families,"said Noreen Leary, executive director of the Veterans Guest House.

"It's a small step, but will help them save money. We hope this event will make more people aware of the benefits of energy efficient lighting,"Hargrove added.

He noted that throughout the rest of the year, or until supplies are exhausted, Sierra Pacific and Nevada Power, its sister company in southern Nevada, are sponsoring a program that offers deep discounts on ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs at local retailers."Our goal is to replace one million incandescent lights in Nevada with CFLs."

The discounted lights are available in northern Nevada at Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Costco, Lowe's, Big Lots and the Dollar Tree.

Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn kicked off the ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World campaign in October. He noted that if every home in Nevada switched to energy-efficient lighting, the state would save 45 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That would result in an annual savings of $4.5 million in energy costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 71 million pounds.

For more information about the Veterans Guest House, visit their website atwww.veteransguesthouse.org, and for more information about energy conservation, see the utility's website atwww.sierrapacific.com.

Quick Facts about Compact Fluorescent Lights*
* Use up to 75 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs
* Last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs
* A 23-watt compact fluorescent bulb can replace a 100 watt incandescent bulb
* They put out as much light as standard incandescent bulbs
* A typical home uses 400 to 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year for lighting
*Source: Edison Electric Institute