M'burgh Village to Get 134 LED Streetlights in Spring

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - The Village of Middleburgh is scheduled to get 134 new LED streetlights from National Grid this spring.

At a special meeting last Wednesday, village board members discussed the National Grid LED streetlight conversion quote for $11,716.24. Once National Grid grid receives the check, the project will go "into the pipeline," village officials said. It is estimated the project will begin in the spring and take no longer than two weeks to complete. The project will be replacing all village street lights 134 lights with LED bulbs.

Once the village receives reimbursement upon project completion, the final cost will be $4,711.24

Last year, board member had hoped that the changeover would have started three years ago as National Grid had promised to replace burnt out bulbs with LED but found out they had leftover old-style lights and used them instead.

The new lights will be brighter and the village will save on electricity charges, but the proposed National Grid rate hike increase in facility charges will wipe out most of the village's savings, officials said. The village will break about even, with a possibility of savings.

The lights will be brighter in the business district, by the elementary school, and the Methodist Church. The decorative lights will also be brighter.

Currently, there are nine burned out lights in the village and LEDs should last much longer, officials said.