Amsterdam  - A total of 6,000 low-income households in the city of Leeuwarden, in the northern Netherlands, will be receiving a so-called energy box in May from the municipality.

The energy box, distributed to the people at no cost, contains six energy-saving light bulbs and one LED lamp, the city announced on its website on Tuesday.

The energy-saving bulbs will save the low-income households some 50 euros (80 dollars) per year in energy expenses.

The boxes will be distributed by unemployed people, to give them temporary jobs.

Leeuwarden is the second city to distribute free energy-saving light bulbs. Rotterdam did the same recently.

Energy-saving light bulbs use substantially less electricity, reducing household energy bills.

However, with a price of more than 4.50 euros (7.14 dollars) for the simplest light-bulb, energy-saving light bulbs are much more expensive than traditional bulbs, which can be purchased for less than 1 euro apiece. (dpa)