America Canada The provincial government of Nova Scotia stated in February 2007 that it would like to move towards preventing the sale of incandescent light bulbs in the province. In April 2007, Ontario's minister of energy, Dwight Duncan, announced the provincial government's intention to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs by 2012. Later in April, the federal government announced that it would ban the sale of inefficient incandescent light bulbs nationwide by 2012 as part of a plan to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases. On 9 November 2011, the federal government approved a proposal to delay new energy efficiency standards for light bulbs until 1 January 2014, when it will become illegal to import inefficient incandescent lighting across the country. In December 2011, Ontario Energy Minister [Chris Bentley] confirmed that Ontario is scrapping the five-year-old plan "to avoid confusing consumers". The Energy Star program, in which Natural Resources Canada is a partner, in March 2008 established rules for labeling lamps that meet a set of standards for efficiency, starting time, life expectancy, color, and consistency of performance. The intent of the program is to reduce consumer concerns about efficient light bulbs due to variable quality of products. Those CFLs with a recent Energy Star certification start in less than one second and do not flicker. In January 2011, the province of British Columbia banned retailers from ordering 75- or 100-watt incandescent bulbs. Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations are published on the Natural Resources Canada website. The Canadian federal government banned the import and sale of 75- and 100-watt incandescent bulbs, effective 1 January 2014. On 1 January 2015, 40- and 60-watt bulbs were also banned. Retailers will be allowed to sell their existing inventories imported before the bans. Cuba Cuba exchanged all incandescent light bulbs for CFLs, and banned the sale and import of them in 2006–07. United States In December 2007, the federal government enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), which set maximum power consumption requirements for all general-service light bulbs producing 310–2600 lumens of light. Light bulbs outside of this range are exempt from the restrictions. Also exempt are several classes of specialty lights including appliance lamps, rough service bulbs, 3-way, colored lamps, stage lighting, plant lights, candelabra lights under 60 watts, outdoor post lights less than 100 watts, nightlights and shatter resistant bulbs. The law was to effectively ban most incandescent