Las Cruces, a city located in New Mexico, U.S. has nearly completed replacing 2,700 streetlights before February, reported Las Cruces Sun-News.

The city has finished replacing 95% of high-pressure sodium light bulbs with LED fixtures in major streets.

Through gross receipts taxes, the city government is spending US $1.5 million to upgrade the city streetlights with energy-saving fixtures which will lower electricity bills.

City Manager Stuart Ed stated in a written announcement issued to city administrators and authorities last December that it expects the city will be able to achieve a cumulative net savings of US $9.5 million with the new LED streetlights over an expected lifetime of 15 years, and increase energy savings by 3%.

LE Electric was commissioned by the city to replace the lighting fixtures, and has completed the majority of installations with merely 195 out of 2,700 streetlights to go.

"About 95 percent of all the city's arterials, collectors and DOT (state and federal department of transportation) controlled streets, the major streets within the city, are done," said Willie Roman, streets and traffic operations administrator for the city of Las Cruces. "We expect to be 100% complete of this first phase of the project within the next few weeks."

City officials estimate the energy savings from the streetlight replacement project which costs US $1.5 million in total will be paid back within a period of 2.5 years, which could reduce electric bills and further lower maintenance costs.

The city has in total 8,000 streetlights including on residential streets, while lights on the main roads have been replaced city authorities have not decided whether to convert streetlights on residential streets with LEDs yet.

"That's a decision that would be left up to senior administration," Roman said. "How much that could cost and when and where that could all start would have to be part of that decision-making process. For now, residential areas continue to have standard street light replacements."