FirstEnergy electric utilities-- Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn Power-- are hosting four LED Street Light Workshops from October 20 to November 9 for municipal officials interested in learning more about how LED lighting can reduce their costs.

The workshops will be held--

-- October 20: in Erie, 9 a.m.-Noon: Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, Erie;

-- October 21: in Pittsburgh Area (Southpointe), 9 a.m.-Noon: Hilton Garden Inn, 1000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg;

-- October 30: in State College, 9 a.m.-Noon: Celebration Hall, 2280 Commercial Blvd., State College; and

-- November 9: in Hamburg, Berks County, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Cabela's Conference Center, 100 Cabela Drive, Hamburg.

Street lighting bills are often among the highest utility costs for municipalities across Pennsylvania.  For the past several years, municipal managers have been hearing about the potential for LED street lights to not only reduce utility bills and reduce energy consumption, but also to improve the overall lighting performance and visibility for a community. 

Since most municipalities lease their street lights from the utility, the biggest hurdle to adoption of LED street lights has been the fact that LED technology has not been offered by most electric utilities in the state.

That has recently changed with the availability of PUC-approved rates for LED street lights through FirstEnergy electric utilities listed above. 

If you are a municipal street lighting customer of one of these utilities, you can now begin the long-awaited transition to LED street lights. And, it is likely that you can begin this transition without any capital expenditure.

These three-hour workshops will provide—

-- An overview of LED technology, including performance characteristics;

-- A review of the new LED rate schedules and how they compare to your current costs;

-- How to easily quantify the energy reduction and cost savings potential for your community;

-- How to determine the appropriate LED replacement fixtures;

-- How to order your new street lights, including specific steps you can take now to begin the transition to LED;

-- An overview of street lighting standards to ensure safety, performance, and energy savings; and

-- Innovative street light monitoring and management systems.

Workshop content will be provided by representatives from GE Lighting, DEP's Energy Office, PennDOT, and FirstEnergy. 

For more information, visit DEP’s LED Street Light Workshops webpage.  Click Here to register.  Please contact Geoff Bristow, Regional Energy Manager at DEP, if you have any questions by calling 814-332-6681 or send email to: gbristow@pa.gov.

10/5/2015