The long awaited LED lights are being installed around Timmins, starting Monday. The project will have about 4000 lights switched out, to save the city money in electricity and maintenance.
Mayor Steve Black says cost is a key factor after a spike in hydro bills.
“Cost containment was key for the Municipality as we experienced significant hydro cost increases over the past years,” says Black. “In addition to the energy savings, the Municipality will be reducing its maintenance costs by 80% as LEDs last four times longer than the existing streetlights. The Municipality will also benefit from an IESO incentive of nearly $400,000 which will offset the total cost of the upgrade.”
RealTerm Energy is using new LED streelights from CREE Canada, a leading manufacturer of the lights. RealTerm Energy and Ontario’s Local Authority Services (LAS) designed the program, which is in over 125 municipalities across Ontario. Among them are Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, and Kapuskasing.
City Engineer Luc Duval says their LED Program provided industry expertise and analysis, which was something the City of Timmins did not have in-house. The project is starting at the Lafleur Bridge, and crews will move west to eventually hit Riverside.