June 27, 2014 – The City of Calgary’s Department of Transportation has selected GE Lighting to replace and upgrade existing streetlight fixtures with LED technology. In a two-phased project plan, the city aims to eventually retrofit about 80,000 streetlights with fixtures consuming 55% less electricity and offering a lifespan of over 10 years.

The first phase of the project will call for the installation of GE’s LED technology in five communities for Fall 2014. Replacing existing HPS (high-pressure sodium) fixtures, the LED solution is also designed to reduce maintenance requirements and costs while reducing the uplighting to zero.

The possible city-wide retrofit will be debated by city council later this year. Should the full conversion move forward, GE says Calgary would become the largest city in Canada to have LED lighting for the entirety of its street illumination.