In an effort to combat the country��s chronic power shortages, North Korea is said to be encouraging homes to switch over to more efficient Light Emitting Diode [LED] bulbs. However, in order to make the transition to domestically-manufactured LED bulbs from incandescent lights, each family needs to pay 10,000 KPW per bulb at a state-operated store. Most homes in North Korea have three rooms and an equal number of light fixtures, making the cost of such a transition unfathomable for the majority of residents.

Light Emitting Diode [LED] and Compact Fluorescent Light [CFL] bulbs have both revolutionized energy-efficient lighting. CFLs, essentially miniature versions of full-sized fluorescents, screw into standard lamp sockets and emit a light similar to common incandescent bulbs, but are four times efficient and last up to 10 times longer. LEDs, on the other hand, last up to 10 times as long as CFLs, and significantly longer than typical incandescents. They are the most durable, cost-effective option for lighting in existence today, but come at significantly higher prices than regular light bulbs. Notably, unlike in most parts of the world, CFLs are more expensive than LEDs in North Korea.

��Since July, there has been a state-organized project to eradicate incandescent bulbs and use LED lights instead,�� a source based in North Pyongan Province reported to Daily NK on Tuesday. She added that roughly half of the households in the North seem to have made the transition.

She explained that these orders have been handed down from the Party, but many are unable to complete the exchange because of the expensive price. ��10,000 KPW [buys roughly 2kg of rice] is the price for home LEDs, and the state-run stores have adjusted their prices so they reflect market figures," she said.

An LED bulb sells for 8 RMB [10,000 KPW] at the market in North Pyongan Province, while a regular light bulb goes for 3,000 KPW, and a CFL for 15,000 KPW. A 10w LED is said to provide a similar amount of light as the 40w or 60w light bulbs that North Koreans typically employ.

In the same region, 1kg of rice goes for roughly  5,000 KPW, and 1 kg of corn sells for approximately 1,800 KPW. Given the amount of food necessary to feed a four-member family [500g for 1 person], one bulb for the exchange would cost many of the residents who scrape by on a daily basis the money they would need for a day��s meal.

The source explained that much promotion for the eco-friendly bulbs has been ongoing during inminban [people��s unit] meetings in every area of the province. People have been told, ��If all households switch over to LEDs, we can save 34 percent in power consumption, and it would generate immense amounts of electricity tantamount to building several new giant power plants.��

Despite the avid promotion, as the rate of replacements continues to decline, additional inspections on the project are being carried out. ��The transfer to LEDs is not something you do if you please. It��s an important issue that can help solve the country��s power problems,�� officials have repeatedly emphasized. They continue to try to galvanize the project by notifying people to ��without question change their incandescent lights to LEDs.��

However, with inminban heads telling people the project is a mandatory policy ordered by the Party, some have responded with the question, ��Why are state-provided LED lighting prices so high?�� The high asking price is seen as an attempt by the state to rake back the initial costs of development and production by forcing people to buy them at market prices, the source explained.

A different source in North Hamgyung Province reported similar findings, ��We weren��t getting power, and the LEDs are so expensive, so people aren��t showing a lot of interest,�� adding, ��the project was in progress, but then it came to a halt.��

Meanwhile, in its May 9th edition of the Rodong Sinmun, the Party��s mouthpiece daily, the North introduced the LED as an award-winning entry at the Science and Technology Festival, noting its 1w, 5w, 10w, and 200w bulb varieties and its many manufacturing locations, including the Samcholli Lighting Appliances Factory.