In order to continue contributing to its goal of reducing energy cost, the New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced the approvals of selling utility-owned streetlights to separate municipalities, reported My Twin Tiers.
Municipalities that received approval include Town of West Seneca (Erie County), the Village of Horseheads (Chemung County) and the Town of Clarkstown (Rockland County). It is expected that the municipalities will take control of the lighting and install energy efficient lights to cut energy costs.
The Commission encourages each municipality to adopt energy- efficient streetlights, which will not only save taxpayer dollars but also help hitting the State’s clean energy goals.
It its estimated that about 1.4 million municipal streetlights could be switched to energy efficient lightings.
The Commission approved New York State Electric and Gas Corporation to sell its streetlights to West Seneca for US $804,866 and to Horseheads for US $79,385. Also, Orange & Rockland Utilities’ sale to Clarkstown also received approval for US $691,619.
It is shown that LED lights can lower up to 80% of energy cost compared to conventional ones. Therefore, it is expected that the municipalities could switch from conventional streetlights to LED ones. It is estimated that the potential savings of LED lights could supply 75,000 standard houses, which is close to US $28 million savings annually.
With the potential to lower energy cost, several municipalities have revealed their interest in purchasing utility-owned streetlights as well as initiating conversion of LED lights.
