Some US$100 million will be saved every year as Filipinos replace their bulbs with energy-efficient lights, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Monday.

ADB will fund the energy-efficiency project in the Philippines that will give away 13 million energy-saving lights to homeowners and businesses as part of a government push to cut the nation's power bills, the lender said in a statement.

The bank has approved a US$31.1 million loan to the Philippines government for the Philippine Energy Efficiency Project, under which compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) will be distributed to customers nationwide in exchange for their incandescent bulbs. Each compact fluorescent lamp is expected to save customers 400 pesos (US$8.50) each year for the next 7 to 10 years.

The project will also retrofit government office buildings and public lighting systems with other efficient lighting options and establish an energy service company that will provide financial and technical support to companies planning to reduce energy consumption. The company will act as a one-stop shop for energy efficiency for the public (hospitals, schools and government buildings) and private (industries, hotels, malls) enterprises, according to the statement.

Only 20 percent of the electricity used by an incandescent bulb produces light, with the remaining 80 percent wasted as heat, ADB said. In contrast, a CFL uses all of its electricity input to produce light.

While an average incandescent bulb's life is only about 800 hours, the CFLs used in the Project will have a life of 10,000 hours with 2-year warranty, it added.

"CFL distribution program is like building 'virtual' power stations," said Sohail Hasnie, Senior Energy Specialist in ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

ADB is extending the loan from its ordinary capital resources to the Philippine government. The loan will have a 25-year repayment period.

The state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. will establish the energy service company using a 7.5 million-dollar loan provided by the government, and under a subsidiary loan agreement approved by ADB.

In the past 30 years, ADB has provided about US$2.9 billion in loans and around US$15 million in technical assistance to the Philippines power sector, according to the statement.