Ottawa City in Canada has proposed halving electricity usage period by retrofitting current streetlights with LEDs, according to a report by The Ottawa Citizen.

The four-year streetlight conversion plan will use up most of the CA$ 40 million (US$ 36.29 million) funding in the proposed energy management and investment strategy. The strategy is scheduled to come before Canada’s environment committee on April 24, 2014. The plan will have to wait until the next council is installed to be discussed and approved.                                                                    

Up to 67,000 streetlights will be converted, with an estimated CA$ 8 million annual investment for four years, and a payback period of six years.

City authorities say it would generate CA$5.3 million in total annual savings after four years, which includes maintenance savings of $CA1.6 million or about 50 per cent.

A pilot LED street light retrofit project of replacing 700 high pressure sodium and metal halide lights to LEDs will take place later this month on Carling Avenue from Bronson Avenue to March Road.