LED bulbs to be installed Monday on the Mall (Carol M. Highsmith) If you drive by or stroll along the Mall in the coming days, yes, the lights will look brighter. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu plan to flip the switch Monday night on newly installed LED lights that will illuminate most of the Mall - and reduce the National Park Service's energy bill. The energy-efficient lights, donated by bulb maker Osram Sylvania and installed for free by Pepco, should cut the Mall's utility bill by 60 percent to 65 percent, Interior Department officials said. With a long stretch of walking and bike paths and dozens of structures accessible to the public at all hours of the day, the Mall consumes the most electricity of the 397 national parks. LEDs provide brighter lighting and last longer, so much so that the Park Service expects to not have to replace the bulbs for up to 25 years. Using the bulbs to light the nation's most high-profile national park might earn bulb manufacturers - and Pepco - some goodwill. The Energy Independence Act of 2007 requires light-bulb manufacturers to begin phasing out less-efficient bulbs this week. Retailers must stop selling 100-watt incandescent bulbs on Tuesday, 75-watt bulbs will be phased out next year, and 60- and 40-watt bulbs must be off the market by January 2014. The new federal bulb standards anger conservatives, who consider the changes another example of government interference. The federal spending bill that passed in December provided no funding for the Energy Department to enforce the changes, but the new rule changes will still take effect as scheduled. And having Pepco personnel install the bulbs might earn the company some love from Washington area customers long frustrated with years of missteps by the company, especially in the aftermath of major winter storms. Comparing Obama and Reagan's economic records