Southern California Edison is asking state regulators for authorization to provide 1 million low-income households with a set of six compact fluorescent light bulbs.

SCE will propose that the estimated $22 million cost of this program be funded by an increase in the Public Goods Charge component of customers’ rates.

SCE would distribute the CFLs with the help of community-based organizations that work with the utility to deliver SCE services and promote the utility’s low-income energy-discount program. SCE proposes using these community-based organizations, along with others, to identify families that qualify for the million-home initiative, distributing the new bulbs door to door along with a packet of educational information on other ways homeowners can save energy and money.

SCE predicts that the program would save California 278 million kilowatt-hours of generation, enough to power more than 35,000 homes.