The Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved Idaho Power’s filing to change all area lights, flood lights and company-owned street lights from high-pressure sodium lights to LEDs. Idaho Power began the changeout in fall 2019.
LED lights provide significant advantages over the existing high-pressure sodium lights. LED lights provide better lighting quality, consume less energy and require less maintenance. Due to changing technology within the lighting industry, Idaho Power has less certainty regarding the future availability of the existing high-pressure sodium technology.
No. Idaho Power will no longer maintain an inventory of high-pressure sodium lights as the transition is made to LED street lights. Idaho Power will replace all company-owned street light fixtures with LED fixtures.
Idaho Power began replacing existing light fixtures with LED fixtures in fall 2019. The project is expected to take approximately four years to complete.
The LED light fixture will look similar to the existing high-pressure sodium fixtures.
The light quality of the LED light fixture is visually different than light produced by the existing high-pressure sodium fixtures. High-pressure sodium street lights produce a light color with a yellowish or orange hue, whereas the color temperature of LED lights is whiter with better color rendition, thus providing greater clarity. LED lights also project light in a focused pattern, directing light more precisely where it is needed. The result is more uniform light coverage, with less glare and fewer dark spots, which improves visibility.
Idaho Power expects that all street light fixtures under Schedule 41(A) will be 3,000 Kelvin (“K”). Idaho Power has identified cobra-head LED fixtures that comply with International Dark-Sky Association standards for shielding, which minimizes glare and light spillage. The only exception to the 3,000K expected is the Schedule 15 flood lights, which are specified at 4,000K. Schedule 15 flood lights are specified at 4,000K because many of the existing flood light fixtures utilize metal halide lamps operating at approximately 4,000K. This type of lighting is not dark-sky compliant due to the nature of a flood light fixture in general.
Idaho Power did not request a rate change with this filing.