Fortis receives approval to proceed with streetlight conversions

Photo courtesy of Fortis - Residents in Bow Island and the County of Forty Mile will notice a big difference when their streetlights get converted to LED lighting in the the coming weeks.

The County of Forty Mile and town of Bow Island will be receiving some new energy-efficient streetlights following an announcement last week by Fortis Alberta that they had received the necessary approvals from the Alberta Utilities Commission.
The initial application to convert existing streetlights under the LED Streetlight Conversion program was made in April 2016 and at that time six communities including Canmore, Crowsnest Pass, Devon, Okotoks, St. Albert and Wetaskiwin underwent conversions. Another application for an additional 131 communities was made to the AUC and FortisAlberta has received approval to continue.
The County of Forty Mile will have approximately 86 lights converted from HPS to LED technology and construction is expected to begin on or around July 14; installations are expected to be completed by July 20.
The Town of Bow Island will have approximately 129 lights converted from HPS to LED technology with construction is expected to begin on or around July 18; installations are expected to be completed by July 23.
“This is a huge win for our municipal customers who have been seeking a viable and cost-effective option for their existing streetlights,” says Don Hughes, director of business development for Fortis.
LED technology offers many benefits, including reduced energy consumption, resulting in lower costs for our customers. The LED technology FortisAlberta is installing will use a warmer light, resulting in minimal blue light exposure. The fixtures are dark sky friendly with zero up-light, which means less light pollution and/or sky glow as the light is directed downward. The current high-pressure sodium bulbs produce a light that appears orange; the new LED lights will produce a whiter light, resulting in a higher light quality that improves safety.
As owner and operator of more than 60 per cent of Alberta’s total electricity distribution network, FortisAlberta’s focus is delivering safe and reliable electricity to more than half a million residential, farm and business customers. The Company serves more than 200 communities with 122,000 kilometres of distribution power lines across Alberta.