An electronic ballast for lighting applications is disclosed. The electronic ballast comprises a first charge pump having an input capacitor (13) charged with a supply current drawn from a power source by application of a charging voltage to the input capacitor (13), the magnitude of the supply current being proportional to the magnitude of the charging voltage; and a voltage booster (16, 17) for generating a boost voltage, which is used to augment the charging voltage, thereby increasing the current drawn from the power source.