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Streetlights to be replaced in 2017

The streets of Westlock will be a little brighter next year.
FortisAlberta will replace 700 streetlights in the Town of Westlock with LED lights in 2017. The town will save about $5.71 per streetlight per year for the first 10 years
FortisAlberta will replace 700 streetlights in the Town of Westlock with LED lights in 2017. The town will save about $5.71 per streetlight per year for the first 10 years and $29.03 after that.

The streets of Westlock will be a little brighter next year.

Pending approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission, FortisAlberta will replace the town’s 700 streetlights with energy-efficient LED lights in 2017, at no upfront cost to the municipality.

The town will initially save about $5.71 per streetlight per year for the first 10 years. Once Fortis pays off the capital cost to install the lights, the town’s savings will jump to $29.03 per streetlight per year.

“They’re charging you for the light and the labour to change them,” Mayor Ralph Leriger explained at a Dec. 12 meeting where council approved the replacement. “If we want to upfront the costs, you could see the $30 in savings, but this way we upfront nothing and we save. After 10 years, you see the full savings.”

In order for lights to be replaced without the town footing the bill, Fortis will have to charge a 10-per-cent Rate-31 multiplier — calculated by subtracting maintenance costs from conversion costs — to cover the capital cost of installation.

The town’s bill won’t be impacted, but the rate multiplier will be subject to approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission.

Chief administrative officer Dean Krause noted that the town does not have staff with the qualifications to change the bulbs, so the service would need to be contracted out if council chose to do it in house.

A few weeks ago, Fortis had requested the town switch from high-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs to LEDs. In a Dec. 5 letter to the town, the electricity distributor pointed out the benefits of LEDs, namely clearer light, longer-lasting bulbs, and lower energy consumption compared to HPS.

Currently, the town has about 700 HPS streetlights.

When calculated out for 2016, the town paid around $21 for transmission and $32 for energy costs, per light. With the new LED lights, the town’s bill would drop to $11 for transmission and $13 for energy costs.

“Our transmission and energy portions drop significantly once they’re in,” Krause said.

In terms of electricity, Fortis estimated the LEDs would annually reduce energy consumption by 285,100-kWh.

“We have checked with our energy supplier ENMAX and asked (them), ‘If we reduce that much of our energy consumption, does it affect our rate with them,’ and it doesn’t,” Krause said. “We’re still in that bracket that we buy from.”

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