Town expecting $5,000 from Central Hudson for LED lights

The town expects to get about $5,000 from Central Hudson Has & Electric Corp. to help pay for LED fixtures for 165 streetlights.

Town Councilwoman Jennifer Metzger said the funding from the utility will be in addition to other money being put toward the project.

“That’s on top of the $50,000 from NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) and the $18,000 ... refunded for past overpurchases,” she said.

Metzger said the state funding will cover the cost of purchasing the lights.

Metzger said the town discovered the availability of Central Hudson funding while reviewing recent programs the utility submitted for state Public Service Commission approval.

“I looked at their most recent ... Energy Efficiency Transition Plans filing for 2017 with the commission and, lo and behold, there was mentioned an incentive based on kilowatt hour energy savings for municipallyowned lights,” she said.

The program is the same program being used by the town of Esopus to update 345 streetlights.

Metzger noted that both Esopus and Rosendale are updating streetlights that are owned by Central Hudson, and she suggested the program be broadened.

“It should be an incentive to be more efficient [and] should be given to any municipality that becomes more efficient regardless of whether they own the lights or not,” she said.

Metzger said Rosendale’s purchase of the LED lights is being done through the MidHudson Streetlight Consortium.

“We’re participating in an aggregated procurement that’s being led by the town of Red Hook,” she said. “The municipalities will purchase our fixtures through a state bid or a competitive procurement process.”