Xcel files plan with PUC to install LED street lights across state

Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) wants to give cities the chance to convert company-owned street lights to LED technology.

Xcel Energy filed a request with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to replace 95,000 light fixtures statewide starting as soon as late this year. If approved by the utilities commission, Xcel Energy will work with cities interested in upgrading 100- to 400-watt high-pressure sodium street lights to lower wattage LEDs.

The costs of the replacements are built into Xcel’s proposed rates, so cities will not have to pay up-front for the installations.

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LED streetlights produce more light per watt of power consumed than conventional lights and offer reduced maintenance costs. The technology also lasts longer and costs less.

The new LED fixtures will deliver energy savings of between 40 and 60 percent compared with the traditional street lights they will replace despite higher capital costs for the new technology, according to Xcel.