NYSEG Completes Conversion of 940 Street Lights to LED in the City of Hornell

New lights to use approximately 50 percent less energy 

HORNELL, N.Y. — December 1, 2020 — NYSEG and the city of Hornell recently collaborated to bring new LED lighting systems to the city’s street lights. Crews began work in October to convert roughly 940 street lights to the LED systems, which use approximately 50 percent less energy. These conversions are part of a broader effort by NYSEG to work with local municipalities to replace older “cobra head” style lighting to newer and more energy efficient LED systems.

“We’re excited to have made the conversion to LED street lighting.  At the beginning of 2020 we committed to focusing on and updating some of the aging infrastructure in the city and the LED street light conversion fit right in with that,” said John J. Buckley, Mayor of the City of Hornell. “We’re committed to bringing our residents the best quality of life possible and this conversion helps us to do that by providing a more energy efficient way to light our city streets. I’d like to thank NYSEG for working with the City on this conversion and say a special thank you to 9th Ward Alderman Steve Shinebarger for his valuable insight and for playing such an instrumental role in this project.” 

The conversion project in the city of Hornell brings potential energy savings to the municipality as well as several other benefits including increased efficiency, streetscape modernization and more direct lighting to the roadways. It is one of the larger conversion projects in NYSEG’s service area and includes work on 189 streets to upgrade all NYSEG owned cobra head street lights within city limits. 

“We’d like to thank NYSEG for the timeliness and ease at which the conversion from the old sodium vapor street lighting to the new energy efficient LED heads happened,” said Mitch Cornish, Superintendent for City of Hornell Public Works. “The direct energy savings by lowering the total wattage of the street lighting system should be significant which will help us with budgeting in these difficult times. We look forward to working with the company again in other energy saving ventures.”

Overall, NYSEG has converted a total of approximately 30,000 cobra head street lights to efficient LED lights in its service area across New York state as part of the conversion program. 

“We’re excited to complete this project and bring new LED lighting systems to Hornell residents,” said Gary Archambeault, Key Account Manager at NYSEG. “The city of Hornell has been a wonderful partner throughout the duration of this project. We thank them for their collaboration and commitment to bringing LED lights to their city. This conversion project, and those happening across the state, will increase reliability, improve efficiency, and provide potential cost savings for municipalities.”