PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A group of local governments in Aroostook County is moving ahead with a project to cooperatively replace their street lights with high-efficiency LED lights.
The move should save municipalities about half or more of what they’re currently paying for streetlights, according to Presque Isle City Manager Martin Puckett, who’s helped spearhead the initiative through the Aroostook Municipal Association.
The other communities include Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Fort Kent, Frenchville, Grand Isle, Houlton, Island Falls, Limestone, Madawaska, Mapleton, Mars Hill, St. Agatha and Washburn.
The groups banded together because for some, the cost of replacing the lights could be too expensive if they did it alone.
“We’ll get a more competitive price together,” Puckett said.
Most towns now lease street lights from Emera Maine and use sodium light bulbs that are less efficient and shorter-lasting than light-emitting diode or LED lights. Presque Isle currently pays about $180,000 annually for streetlights that are owned and operated by Emera Maine.
By acquiring the streetlights as local governments and contracting for their replacement with LEDs together, the 14 municipalities will cut their current bills by as much as 60 percent and recoup their investment within a few years, he said.
The communities of Dover-Foxcrot, Falmouth and South Portland also are in the process of taking over and converting their street lights.
The timeline for when the LEDs will be installed hasn’t been set yet, Puckett said.
The group’s plan has been approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, which oversees electricity and other utility infrastructure. In the new year, the municipalities will have an audit performed on their street lights, which will include detailed maps of the street lights and plans for their LED replacements, Puckett said.
“From the regulatory standpoint, almost everything is in place for the municipalities,” said Harry Lanphear, spokesman for the PUC.
