Municipality of East Hants LED Lighting Conversion – Considerations, Project and Outcomes

Why Convert to LED Lights? Provincial legislation requiring eventual conversion of existing lights (within 5 years) Financially responsible thing to do – Financial benefit of MEH buying LED lights versus leasing from NSPI ~ $39,000/yr – Reduction in operating costs: Years 1-3: $108,000/yr & Years 4-20: $79,000/yr – 1.8 to 2.4 cent impact on main area rate Staff resources were available in 2011 – on the heels of an energy study and subsequent work, our Sustainability Coordinator was still available Municipality concerned with sustainability and improved energy efficiency of it’s operations Expected Outcomes: Energy usage reduction ~ 452 MWh/yr Green House Gas (CO2) reduction ~ 352 Tonnes/yr Equivalent to removing 72 cars from the road 1

Project Time-Line – Summer student GPS’d existing street lights – Count was 1,789 (actual lights replaced 1,692) February 2011 – Report to Council on LED streetlights and potential impact of conversion. Unknowns at the time prevented us moving forward: – NSPI’s lease rate for LED street lights; – NSPI’s rate for converting from HPS & MV street lights to LED street lights; – The cost of disposing of the older street lights; – The installed cost of LED street lights on NSPI poles; – The long-term maintenance and insurance costs related to LED street lights. May 2011 – PNS Energy Saving Roadway Lighting Act June 2011 – Council approved a Street Lighting Policy (based on “as is” operations) Spring/Summer 2011 – Sustainability Coordinator hired to prepare the RFP for the supply, installation and maintenance of LED streetlights 2

Project Time-Line (con’t) August RFP Issued (see details) September 2011 – NSPI’s 2012 General Rate Application was settled, confirming rates – URB settlement prohibited NS Power from charging conversion fee for lights switched out before January 1, 2012 – MEH conversion cost would be $178,000 after January 1, 2012 September 2011 – Final recommendations to Council (see details) October 2011 – Made application to Efficiency Nova Scotia for Business Energy Rebate for commercial lighting installations – Received $182,000 December 2011 – Council adapted the Street Lighting Policy to incorporate ownership issues and developer requirements May 2012 – Changes required to working Policy and municipal Subdvision By-Law 3

RFP Results RFP was for the Supply, Installation and Maintenance of 1789 LED Streetlights within the Municipality of East Hants. As part of the RFP service requirements, provisions were made for: – the mapping of installed lights using GPS/GIS technology – 3 year full replacement warranty – 10 year warranty on the LED fixtures Prices were also obtained for: – additional arms – the supply and installation of additional street light assemblies (to be held for one year) – for hourly service rates for years 4 through 10 (so as to coincide with the 10 year fixture warranty) Twenty proposal packages were taken out by electrical contractors, LED streetlight suppliers and LED streetlight manufactures Four submissions were received at the closing date of this process All of the Proponents submitted LED Roadway Lighting (LRL) fixtures – best suited our specifications for a high performance, long life fixture 4

RFP Evaluation Criteria RFP was evaluated on the following criteria: – Project Plan – Corporate Experience of Proponent – Personnel Qualifications, Experience, and Workforce Availability – Equipment Availability – LED Light Fixture Performance – LED Light Fixture Functionality – Reliability Testing MTBF – LED Light Fixture Warranty – Added Value (additional warranty, labour, maintenance, made in Canada, etc.) – Price/Value – Presentation 5

Recommendations to Council September 2011 Recommendations: 1.That the Municipality adopt an ownership-based financing strategy with regards to the conversion of its existing network of street lights to LED street lights and with regards to the installation of future LED street lights. – Buy vs. lease: net benefit of buying: $39,476 per annum 2.That Council instruct staff to take all cost-efficient and reasonable means to monitor and control the deployment of LED streetlights by the successful RFP proponent to ensure that a maximum number of streetlights are installed before January 1, – Buying and installing before January 1, 2012: $178,641 3.That Council adopt a change to the Street Light Policy to establish an LED Street Light Reserve Fund for the following purposes: – Provide for an inventory of LED fixtures and arms; – Provide for the installation and maintenance labour costs related to new installations; – Provide for uninsurable street light-related losses 6

Recommendations to Council (con’t) 4.Transfer Efficiency Nova Scotia rebates to LED Street Light Reserve Fund. 5.That staff be directed to negotiate with the highest scoring Contractor, with the intent to contract for the Supply and Installation of LED Streetlights – Budget not to exceed $ 1,500,000 6.That staff be directed to negotiate with the highest scoring Contractor to contract for a street light maintenance agreement, with a maximum duration of 10 years. – Proponent warranty is “all-in” for 3 years – Product warranty is 10 years 7

Items for Consideration We do not have a street lighting standards and design criteria – Standard is 43 watt, higher at intersections Do not change out private lights Insurance – Annual cost $8,300 – Only the cost of the light fixture can be insured at this time – Labour cost of installation is not insurable (reserves for those) No “lessons learned” per se – Project proceeded very smoothly – Dedicated staff person – Black & MacDonald have been excellent to deal with Policy and Application Form posted on Municipality of East Hants public website: – 8

Customer Education Communication – Web, news print, newsletters, word of mouth – During change over – disruption of traffic, worker safety, etc. What does municipal ownership mean? – The Municipality is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and installation – Residents will now need to report LED street light outages & maintenance problems to the Municipality. – Problems with power lines & power poles are still the responsibility of NS Power. How do residents report a streetlight outage or maintenance issue? – Streetlight outages and maintenance issues can be to or by calling the Municipality’s Operational Services Department at (902) ex 9

Cost per light: 10

Questions? 11