YAKIMA, Washington -- Some new street lights are helping the city of Yakima cut its electric bill. The lights have been up for about a year and have already saved thousands of dollars. About 400 lights throughout the city have already been upgraded. The first set was paid for with about $400,000 worth of grant money. The new high-efficiency LED lights are anywhere from 40% to 60% more efficient than traditional bulbs, and have saved the city about $30,000 in just the first year.
"There again, big energy savings, big maintenance savings, and the light, generally from the LED lights is a better light," said Yakima's Streets and Traffic Operations Manager, Joe Rosenlund.
Rosenlund says the city hopes to get more grant money so they can upgrade about 4,000 more lights throughout town. He says they also plan to use some taxpayer money for the project, but he says it's worth it since the new lights can pay for themselves with energy savings in as little as five years.
