LEDs weighed for long-term savings

A proposed Arkansas River Power Authority electric rate hike has Trinidad pursuing energy-saving light-emitting diode equipment, which will save money in the long run, according to City Manager Ed Gil de Rubio.

LED lights will increase the original $200,000 lighting budget by $80,000. That figure is $40,000 less than projected costs using traditional lights, and would stretch the payments from three to seven years. That would lower the city’s 2012 payment from $156,000 to $75,400.

“I’m not content after perusing the proposed ARPA budget for next year, with the events that have taken place over the past few weeks,” Gil de Rubio said. “I would like to replace that figure of $200,000 up to $280,000 if you decide to go with LED lighting or $320,000 without LED lighting.

“I’m saying this primarily because of the direction we’re currently going with the ARPA budget. They have a budget with a proposed three percent increase in base rate, but as I made reference to at the last work session, that’s not guaranteed. It could go up by six, eight or 10 percent, and at this point we just don’t know.”

The city will partner with Rocky Mountain Services Employment Redevelopment on a project to train local workers to install LED lighting. The costs of the lighting have dropped significantly in recent months, Gil de Rubio said. In July 2010, the city was quoted a figure of $656,000 for the lighting. Recent conversations with the manufacturer have resulted in a $190,000 price reduction to $466,000.

The discussion on increasing the number of LED lights in the city was part of a broader discussion of the proposed $8.5 million 2012 power and light budget, an increase of around $500,000 above the 2011 budget.

The city manager said the city expects a 1 percent power and light revenue increase from an estimated 2011 figure of $8.5 million to $8.55 million in the proposed 2012 budget.

Expenditures will also increase next year. The estimated actual 2011 figure for expenditures is $7.64 million, while the proposed 2012 budget for expenditures is $8.15 million. There should be a slight increase in the year-end fund balance in 2012. This year the estimated actual ending fund balance should be $4.176 million, while the ending fund balance for 2012 is projected at $4.274 million. Net income for the power and light funds should experience a significant drop in 2012. The estimated actual net income for 2011 is $502,500 while the 2012 net income figure in the proposed 2012 budget is just $98,000. The fund balance experienced a net loss of $603,000 in 2010.