Panel to hold enlightening discussion

How the Village of Belgium lights up its residents’ lives will be discussed at the Public Works Committee meeting Thursday, July 30.

We Energies, citing lower costs for monthly rates for LED street lighting as of Jan. 1, sent the village an email in April encouraging a conversion program.

The village is being billed for 199 street lights – 111 at the non-standard rate and 88 at the standard rate.

Standard rates are for lighting installed on We Energies distribution poles and non-standard lighting is decorative post-top lighting or where distribution poles weren’t available, an email from We Energies lighting consultant Andrea Hatton said.

LED, or light-emitting diode, fixtures offer whiter light and use less energy than high-pressure sodium (HPS), which has been the industry standard for three decades, Hatton wrote.

Changing the 88 standard fixtures to LED would save the village more than $20,000 in five years, more than $60,000 in 10 years, more than $115,000 in 15 years and nearly $170,000 in 20 years, according to We Energies projections.

The upfront cost for the LED fixtures is $15,425. Equipment costs would require monthly payments for seven years.

The upfront charge for the non-standard fixtures is $111,000 but they have a lower monthly payment. Savings over seven years are projected to be nearly $30,000, over 10 years is nearly $45,000, over 15 years more than $65,000 and over 20 years nearly $100,000.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Village Hall.