Cumberland, N. Smithfield among municipalities upgrading street lighting
PROVIDENCE – Nearly half of Rhode Island’s cities and towns have undertaken projects to upgrade their streetlights announced the League of Cities and Towns today.
The incorporation of LED technologies will allow all streetlights within these municipalities to be energy efficient, while also leading to significant savings in areas like electricity costs and maintenance.
To date, at least 16 communities have purchased their streetlights from National Grid and upgraded them to LED lights. Communities are already starting to see the benefits of this innovative municipal effort. For example, Providence will save $3 million annually in streetlight electricity use and maintenance. Bristol and Barrington collaborated on the purchase and installation of the LED lights – with Bristol on track to see approximately $219,000 in savings annually and Barrington expected to save around $180,000 a year. Cumberland is projected to save approximately $157,000.
“The town continues to look for ways to save on costs and make energy efficiency upgrades,” said James J. Cunha, Barrington town manager. “Our partnership with Bristol was extremely successful and beneficial to both towns.”
The League of Cities and Towns supported the Municipal Streetlights Investment Act, passed in 2013, which facilitated the purchase of streetlights by cities and towns from National Grid, saving them substantial operating costs in the process.
The conversions will lead to significant savings for taxpayers in cities and towns and allow the municipalities to instead focus spending on other areas, such as investments in city services.
“I am thrilled to announce that Providence has implemented LED technologies into our city streetlights,” said Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. “These upgrades will allow our city to practice greater energy efficiency and save significant dollars in the long-term.”
The League is aware of the following communities that have purchased their streetlights and are in the process of installing LED streetlights, with several other communities considering a similar effort in the coming months:
Barrington, Bristol, Central Falls, Charlestown, Cranston, Cumberland, Hopkinton, Little Compton, North Kingstown, North Providence, North Smithfield, Richmond, Tiverton, Warren, Westerly and West Warwick.