ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission), as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York’s communities, today said it had approved separate requests for the City of Poughkeepsie and the City of Beacon to purchase utility-owned streetlights from Central Hudson.

With the change in ownership, the municipalities take control of the lighting on their own streets and have the opportunity to install state-of-the-art, energy efficient lights and new technologies to lower costs to taxpayers and protect the environment. By empowering communities to have more say over their energy use, street lighting conversions help local governments lower municipal energy expenditures while lowering overall emissions, thereby advancing the State’s efforts to lead on climate change.

“Governor Cuomo is a staunch advocate of the need for municipal government efficiency and greater local control over energy use,” said Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman. “As part of those important priorities, the Commission encourages municipalities to consider the benefits associated with installing energy-efficient street lighting. Undertaking ownership allows municipalities to consider their unique set of circumstances and take advantage of options that help achieve their own local environmental and efficiency objectives.

Approximately 1 million municipal streetlights across the State could be converted to higher efficiency lights. This number includes both utility- and customer-owned streetlights. A recent study on the latest energy efficient lights, known as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), found that LED-technology uses significantly less energy than traditional street lighting. Streetlights account for up to 40 percent of total local government energy consumption, and the adoption of LED-lighting can reduce energy consumption by up to 60 percent.

In its decision, the Commission approved Central Hudson’ sale of 1,492 streetlights to the City of Poughkeepsie for $349,128 and the sale of 1,020 streetlights to the City of Beacon for $238,680. Combined, the two cities have a population of more than 45,000 people. The money generated from the sale of the streetlights will be used to benefit Central Hudson customers. The utility filed the petition in cooperation with the municipalities. Last year, the Commission approved similar utility sales to Town of West Seneca (Erie County); the Village of Horseheads (Chemung County); and the Town of Clarkstown (Rockland County).

LED-related energy savings can contribute significantly to the state’s energy and environmental goals. In fact, if all of the State’s street lighting were converted to LED fixtures the energy savings potential is estimated to be enough electricity to power 75,000 homes. Financial savings could be as much as $28 million per year. Given these cost-effective and environmentally friendly savings opportunities, municipalities across the State have been showing interest in either buying street lights from their utility before converting to LEDs or taking advantage of new utility street lighting tariffs to do the same.

As street-lighting technologies continue to advance, it will be important to take advantage of additional functionalities that can improve costs and public safety, while meeting and balancing both the environmental and economic impacts of conversions. To that end, universal outreach and education will be a key component to the overall success of LED-street light conversion.

The decisions may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Numbers 16-E-0174 (City of Poughkeepsie) or 16-E-0173 (City of Beacon) in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.

About Reforming the Energy Vision

Reforming the Energy Vision is Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s strategy to lead on climate change and grow New York’s economy. REV is building a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers by stimulating investment in clean technologies like solar, wind, and energy efficiency and generating 50 percent of the state’s electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030. Already, REV has driven 600 percent growth in the statewide solar market, enabled over 105,000 low-income households to permanently cut their energy bills with energy efficiency, and created thousands of jobs in manufacturing, engineering, and other clean tech sectors. REV is ensuring New York State reduces statewide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and achieves the internationally-recognized target of reducing emissions 80 percent by 2050. To learn more about REV, including the Governor’s $5 billion investment in clean energy technology and innovation, please visit www.ny.gov/REV4NY and follow us at @Rev4NY.