Socket to us?

Talk about far-reaching legislation -- a bill in the General Assembly reaches right inside North Carolinians' light fixtures. House Bill 838 bears the straightforward but sweeping title "An act to prohibit the sale of general service incandescent lamps in the state." The notion may shock light-bulb buyers and set Thomas A. Edison to spinning in his grave. But thoughtful citizens of the 21st century will want to see this energy-saving, anti-global-warming measure debated with light, not heat.

Although it's billed as a prohibition, the legislation, sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Pricey Harrison and Susan Fisher, is all about gradually replacing traditional incandescent bulbs -- "lamp-bulb shaped" bulbs, you might say -- with twist-shaped fixtures known as compact fluorescents. The latter have conventional screw-type bases and are comparable to most filament-type bulbs. They cost about $3 apiece but, with much lower electricity consumption and much longer service lives, start saving buyers money in a matter of months.

These new models are improved over earlier versions, which fell short in start-up times and light output. Now, in a burst of "creative destruction" caused by a superior new technology, lamp makers are gearing up, and Wal-Mart seeks to sell 100 million compact fluorescents in a year, jump-starting the industry.

This is good news for consumers and even better for the state as a whole, because lighting is a significant part of electric utilities' overall load. Lower the demand enough through efficiency and Duke Energy and Progress Energy won't have to build so much capacity -- or raise rates so much.

Good news, yes -- but a prohibition on incandescents mandated by state law? Other states (California, Connecticut, Rhode Island) are considering it, and in Australia the conservative government has acted for an entire continent, phasing out the sale of incandescents by 2010 (the Harrison-Fisher bill here would take effect in 2016).

Australian officials say boosting energy efficiency is the most effective, immediate way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. That's true, and if the bulbs live up to their billing, any legislation may come to seem superfluous -- the cool common sense of compact fluorescents will itself cause a light switch.

But not everywhere. We're assured that certain specialized applications -- inside stoves and refrigerators, three-way bulbs, reflectors -- will be exempt from the ban, along with bug lights. You know -- those yellow bulbs bugs like so much.