UPDATE: Governor Larry Hogan issued an executive order on March 12th mandating teleworking for non-essential state employees across all state agencies in response to COVID-19. During this time, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Municipal LED Streetlight Program manager can be reached via email at
chris.russell@maryland.gov Information submitted to MEA by postal mail may have processing times affected by the office closure. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your understanding.
MEA with a competitive grant award from US Department of Energy (DOE), is leading a two-state initiative with Clean Energy Solutions, Inc. (CESI) as principal consultant and the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME), Virginia Regional Commission and various regional partners to facilitate the conversion of streetlights by local governments to LEDs. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Government (MWCOG), and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) as outreach and education partners to facilitate the adoption of LED streetlights by local governments. The following videos provide information on the Program:
The major objectives and associated tasks are:
- Educate local governments about the costs and benefits of LED streetlighting conversions;
- Assist interested local governments (including counties) in determining the specific cost-effectiveness of a project in their locality, given a rough inventory of their existing lighting;
- Assist local governments via model RFQs to solicit lighting contractors and financing for conversions and act as “owners’ agents to assist their selection and implementation of conversions in Maryland and accessing the existing Dominion program in Virginia;
- Provide local governments, alone or in aggregate, with any information that the governments may use to negotiate with utilities and public service commissions about updates to utility tariffs and acquisition of utility-owned streetlights where appropriate. Provide model state legislation, tariff guidance and additional educational materials on the efficacy of LED conversions; participate in meetings as needed with key stakeholders to move the conversion process forward
This two-year project, commencing in February 2019, will focus initially in Maryland on improving existing utility tariffs and gaining acquisition opportunities with the investor owned utilities. In Virginia, the major effort will be engaging local governments to take advantage of Dominion’s recently improved tariff, which renders LED conversions quite cost-effective today. The project will encourage utility regulators to approve at least two utilities (one in each state) modified tariff structures that facilitate LED streetlight conversions. The anticipated results of this project are to have at least five local governments have converted their Streetlights to LEDs, with another 10-15 local governments beginning the process to do the same.