PORT NECHES — The City of Port Neches is joining several other area cities in moving towards LED streetlights.

The streetlights on Merriman Street from Twin City to Port Neches Riverfront Park have recently been converted to LED, City Manager Andre Wimer said.

The difference, he said, likely won’t be noticed.

“In terms of LED lighting, it is a different type of light, for lack of a better term. We think it does provide the same level of brightness as with traditional streetlights. In longer terms, there will be a cost savings each year once the additional cost for replacement is recovered, because there is a lower monthly charge for the LED lights as opposed to standard lights.”

From the city’s perspective the LED lights serve several purposes, one being cost savings and the other being that LED lights are more energy efficient and reduce electrical consumption.

Entergy Texas officials began talks with Port Neches Public Works Director Taylor Shelton in early 2016 about the possibility of converting the existing streetlights in the city to LED.

“The reason for this request was that Entergy Texas has introduced an LED street light rate which is available to municipal customers,” according to information from Entergy. “When compared to the current street light technology LED streetlights are energy efficient and they produce a white light that lends itself to better color rendering and increases the ability to recognize objects in a night time setting.”

The change to LED is a pilot program to gauge the response from the residents of the city.

Wimer said the cost to install the new lighting along Merriman came in around $1,700, but with the cost savings, the funds should be recovered within about a year.

“We will evaluate over the next few weeks and see how they perform in terms of providing light and if it does appear sufficient and acceptable, then we would potentially consider moving forward with other areas of the city,” he said.

A similar project is underway in Vidor, where most of Main Street is being converted to LED streetlights and Entergy is also working with Pinehurst, where some lighting on Strictland drive is being converted.

Mary Meaux: 409-721-2429

Twitter: @MaryMeauxPANews