LED streetlights are being introduced on Saskatchewan roads as part of a pilot project by SaskPower.
Officials with the Crown corporation said LED streetlights are 40 to 60 per cent more efficient than traditional ones.
READ MORE: SaskPower turning waste flare gas into electricity
The new lights are estimated to reduce Saskatchewan’s power demand by 92 kilowatts.
“This pilot will show what impact the increased energy efficiency and reduced maintenance costs will have when the provincial rollout goes ahead,” Donavon Nelson, SaskPower’s director of distribution operations and maintenance for southern Saskatchewan, said.
“On the operations side, with very little regular maintenance required, crews can respond more quickly to streetlights that do experience issues and spend more time on other projects as we work to modernize the province’s electrical grid.”
The LED streetlight pilot will run to December in areas with a range of settings, including heavy traffic areas, commercial and industrial parks and residential subdivisions.
Nearly 1,000 lights will be converted to LED along Lewvan Drive, the northeast industrial area and the Lakewood subdivision in Regina.
READ MORE: Saskatoon-based Ecobain Gardens improves crops by switching to LED lights
Around 500 LED lights will be installed in the northern part of Saskatoon.
Once the pilot is successfully completed, SaskPower said a province-wide rollout is expected to happen over the next decade.