In a double-win, the lighting atop the Wyoming Valley Levee in the area of Kirby and Nesbitt parks is both brighter and cheaper due to a LED conversion project. 
Government officials often predict projects will save money, but in this case Luzerne County officials recently followed up and documented a tangible reduction in expenses. 
Under an agreement with the levee overseer — the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority — the county is responsible for the electric bill for lighting along this west side levee stretch, which includes lights under both the Market Street and Veterans Memorial (Pierce Street) bridges, said county Engineer William McIntosh. 
The October 2016 UGI electric bill was $1,249, while the October 2020 bill was $283, or $966 less, McIntosh said. This overall 77.3% reduction in electricity costs resulted in annual savings of nearly $10,000, he said. That exceeded initial projections of about $7,000 in reductions annually. But there’s more. The county sought and received a $5,564 energy rebate incentive from UGI Electric, reducing the total project cost to $922. 
 
Click here to read the full article and learn more, on February 14th, 2021 on Times Leader.