Maine's Statewide Traffic Signal Bulb-to-L.E.D. Replacement Program

Program helps municipalities improve energy efficiency, cut electricity and maintenance costs

Any Maine municipality with at least one signal--from the town with a single flashing beacon on a rural road, to the city with hundreds of traffic signals--has a chance to lower its electric bills substantially this summer.
With a $200,000 grant from the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) and the PUC are joining forces to improve the energy efficiency of traffic signals and flashing beacons across the state. The PUC grant funds the department's Municipal Traffic Signal Replacement Program. The program provides funding to Maine cities and towns so they may update their traffic signal lighting technology. Program benefits include increased signal energy efficiency with brighter lights, reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and reduced municipal signal maintenance costs.

The TSRP helps municipalities retrofit their traffic signals from incandescent lighting to energy-saving light-emitting diode (LED) signals. In addition to saving energy, the highly efficient LED units have an average life of 10 years, compared to one year for incandescent lights, thus reducing municipal signal maintenance costs, too.

This program responds to recent directives from the Maine Legislature for state agencies to coordinate their energy policies and supports a recent agreement by the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers to work jointly to reduce carbon emissions in the region. This program is one of the strategies specifically recommended for carbon reductions by the governors and premiers.

According to Peter Coughlan, Director of the Maine Local Roads Center, "This program not only significantly reduces municipal signal energy use, saving Maine communities significant money in electric bills and signal maintenance costs, but also improves Maine's environment."

Although some Maine towns had already changed some bulbs to LEDs, the PUC and MaineDOT determined that financial assistance to municipalities was necessary to convince all cities and towns to invest in them. Bulbs are provided to communities at a one-third the local cost share. Each town is picking up the full installation costs. The investment in this program, however, is quickly recovered through reduced energy use and cost savings. The maintenance savings, which are also significant, are an additional benefit passed on to taxpayers in the communities that take advantage of the program. As of mid-May, 50 municipalities had applied for the program and were requesting more than 3,200 LED's at 230 intersections. As these LED's are installed this summer, electric meters will slow down for towns all across Maine and save at least an estimated 1.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity over the next year.

Other innovative programs sponsored by the Maine Local Roads Center include a local traffic regulatory and warning sign replacement program, a work-zone device package program for towns, and a program to distribute flashing "STOP/SLOW" paddles and fluorescent safety vests.

For more information on the TSRP, contact MaineDOT's Coughlan at (207) 624-3266, peter.coughlan@maine.gov or, Steve Landry, (207) 624 - 3632, stephen.landry@maine.gov