WARREN — A proposal to replace all city streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs potentially could save hundreds of thousand of dollars per year, according to a feasibility study done by a California-based company hired by the city.

Tanko Lighting recently presented a proposal to Warren City Council’s utility committee, encouraging officials to buy all of the city’s existing streetlights from Ohio Edison — and replace them with high energy, efficient LED streetlights.

Purchasing the 5,319 streetlights from Ohio Edison could cost as much as $150 per light, according to Jason Tanko, chief executive officer of Tanko Lighting. The cost for the changeover to LEDs is estimated to be $1.7 million. The per-fixture costs are projected to range from $209 per fixture to $266 per fixture, depending on how the replacements are financed.

Once the current high-pressure sodium and mercury vapor streetlights are replaced with LEDs, the city initially will begin to experience a small annual savings, which is expected to increase over time as energy costs continue to increase. The city, however, will no longer be paying Ohio Edison for owning and maintaining the equipment.

“Because we will be using less energy with the LEDs, the city will see its annual energy usage costs reduced,” Councilman Greg Greathouse, D-4th Ward, said.

Greathouse first proposed switching the streetlights to LEDs in 2019, while he was a candidate for the council seat. Council agreed to have a feasibility study done in April.

Tanko noted the conversion process could provide the city an estimated savings of $3.2 million, an approximate 75 percent electrical usage reduction.

The city’s annual streetlighting expenses are currently $481,000. Converting the streetlights to LEDs will create an energy savings of $330,000 per year, reducing the city’s annual spending for electricity for streetlighting to just over $150,000 per year, according Tanko Lighting.

Under the proposal, the city will pay $200,000 per year to run and operate the LEDs and nearly $300,000 per year will be used to pay the debt for an 11-year period.

Tanko noted the purchase of the older streetlamps and poles, as well as the LEDs, may be paid for by selling municipal bonds, determining what available grants or other governmental programs available, or paying the cost up front.

Greathouse expects to ask the administration to look for available grants to help offset the initial project costs.

“Optimistically, I’m looking at infrastructure grant dollars and the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act to help reduce our costs,” he noted. “If we can get a million dollars or more in assistance, we will reduce the time it will take to pay initial costs.”

“We will have savings every year going forward,” Greathouse noted.

Tanko Lighting is working with the cities of Cincinnati, Zanesville, Athens and Independence in updating their streetlight programs. Warren’s project proposal is more extensive than what has been done in any of those other Ohio communities.

A second option outlined in the feasibility study of Warren’s system is for the city to do a utility-sponsored LED conversion, where it does not purchase the current streetlights, allowing Ohio Edison to do the LED conversion over time.

The city still will pay Ohio Edison for the use of its equipment as well as the cost of the power generated. Tanko projects the cost of power generated will increase over a 20-year period by $1.1 million.

The third option is to decide to not do a conversion of the streetlamps and maintain the current system.

The city paid Tanko Lighting $7,500 for the feasibility study.

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