PHOTO: The Rainsville City Council and Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt meet to accept bids to install energy saving lighting and devices in the city's facilities. (Tyler Pruett | Southern Torch)
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — On Friday (April 7), the Rainsville City Council held a Special Session to approve bids submitted by Every Watt Matters and Laney Electric to install LED lighting and other energy saving devices that will reduce the city's electric bills.
The bid with Every Watt Matters will cost the city $109,533.53 and will include all the necessary equipment, mainly the LED Lighting and the Harmonic Current Reduction Modules. The modules help make the electric current flow easier, reducing the amount of wattage used. The LED lighting will also reduce the amount of electricity needed to light the city's buildings.
Laney Electric submitted the only bid for the installation which totaled $20,499.50 to put in the new equipment. Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt stated that after ordered, the equipment would take six to eight weeks to arrive, and would take about two weeks to install.
Overall, the whole project will cost the city $130,033.01, which is $12,000 cheaper than initially estimated ($142,391.00 original estimated costs). According to Every Watt Matters CEO George Blackstone (who briefed the council on the program at an earlier meeting), “the project will pay for itself in savings in 2.8 years through the energy and maintenance savings.”
“You're currently using just under 500,000 kilowatt hours, afterwards it drops to about 125,000,” explained Blackstone.
Before adjourning, the council discussed options on how to pay for the project. Instead of taking some money from several departments to pay for it, the council moved to empower the mayor to pursue a loan with First Southern State Bank for $130,000.00, at four percent interest.
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