New York State Electric & Gas and the village of Gowanda recently collaborated to bring new LED lighting systems to the village’s street lights.

Crews began work in December to convert roughly 327 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.

“The village of Gowanda was happy to work together with our longtime partners, NYSEG, to convert our street lights to LED,” Village of Gowanda Mayor David Smith said. “The board voted unanimously to move forward with this project as it is truly a financially prudent, responsible and beneficial decision for all parties involved. This opportunity has improved the quality of life for our residents, increased the health and safety for vehicle and pedestrian traffic and provided a quaint, fresh and well-lit environment for our village. Not to mention, LED lights benefit the environment through less energy usage and will cut our utility costs in half. We’re so thankful for the professionalism, optimism and dedication of our partners at NYSEG who were fantastic throughout the process.”

The conversion project in the village of Gowanda 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. The project included work on 60 streets to upgrade all NYSEG owned cobra head street lights within village limits.