News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Monterey city officials have requested Volunteer Electric to estimate the cost of the city switching to LED streetlights.
The potential change comes after Mayor Bill Wiggins noticed the city’s current spending on streetlights.
“Our power bill for streetlights got my attention some time back,” Wiggins said. “I discovered that we were paying a pretty fair amount of money for 349 streetlights.”
The request to VEC comes after Monterey officials met with Memphis-based company Trane to discuss the possible upgrade. Wiggins said the meeting revealed the city could reduce utility costs from $70,000 to about $22,000 per year.
Wiggins said the change to LED lights would upgrade 349 streetlights from 70 watt bulbs to 100 watt.
“I think we need 100 because [70 watt bulbs] are comparable to what you might put in your backyard,” Wiggins said.
Last month, city officials began looking into the possibility of switching the current streetlight system to LED bulbs to reduce costs.
Wiggins said it’s possible the change could go beyond streetlights and impact city buildings as well.
