In order to reduce power needs, the government of Panama is buying its citizens compact fluorescent light bulbs.

According to an announcement from President Martin Torrijos, the government will buy $13 million worth of CFLs. The first batch of three million bulbs will be handed out in poor suburbs of Panama City later this month, with a second batch of three million slated for distribution later this year.

Panama's energy infrastructure has struggled for several years to keep up with the rapidly growing demand for power in the country. When demand peaked this summer, Panama City was hit by a series of blackouts. The Panamanian government is building 15 new power-producing facilities, with an expected capacity of 745 megawatts, but that capacity won't be added to the national grid until 2012.

During his announcement, Torrijos said that distributing the new bulbs would reduce the country's power needs by 60 megawatts, for a tenth of the price of a power plant capable of producing that much energy. Torrijos' administration has focused heavily on energy this year.

Panama has a population of approximately three million. The government's purchase amounts to two light bulbs for every citizen, although the actual distribution seems focused in Panama City, home to a third of Panama's citizens.

Photo by Flickr user  Steve Levi