RI Streetlights Reform
RI’s sweeping streetlight reform project is becoming a huge success. On a trajectory to save RI towns and cities $8 million per year, the project began when we analyzed energy expenses for thirteen towns and found that street lighting is the larges electricity expense for even rural towns. There was no easy “fix” because National Grid owned the lights, maintenance changes were set in stone, and LED lights or modern dimming systems were not allowed.
We then wrote state legislation that, when passed, became the Municipal Streetlights Investment Act and is now law. With this new legal tool that the RI Public Utilities Commission just approved after a year-long process, towns/cities can join our collaborative maintenance program, PRISM and gain control over their own lights.
PRISM is the Partnership for Rhode Island Streetlights Management and is the best way for a RI city or town to maximize its savings. In most cases, towns can reduce their street lighting expense by 40%, and use the savings to pay for LED conversions to reduce energy usage by over 60%. Thus, for any town or city in RI, PRISM can help achieve lower costs, better service, much better light, and reduce the carbon footprint of our street lighting system.
Any town or city that is interested should contact: