EASTON, Pa. — Easton residents are raising concerns over the Met-Ed streetlight conversion project which began just last week, only to be put to a stop by city officials.
In a release issued by the city, officials acknowledged that Met-Ed has begun the project to convert older lighting with more efficient LED fixtures, and while they stated both parties had been consulting on the project for several years, “we were not advised that the project would be getting started last week.”
Director of Public Works Dave Hopkins confirmed Met-Ed was supposed to contact the city before the project’s start, but they did not.
But the start date for the conversion isn’t the only issue.
“We were also not provided with samples of the various wattages that are available, which is important because the LEDs emit a very different color temperature than the fixtures that they are replacing,” the statement reads.
“We are now working with Met Ed to address the situation as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Social media posts of the statement have garnered dozens of reactions from residents complaining about the stark brightness of the LEDs and questioning why the swaps are even being made.
According to Hopkins, city officials were told the new lights would be 3,000 Kelvin, though “they don’t appear to be.”
More importantly, discussions on the correct wattage for the replacements did not occur. Hopkins said that Met-Ed tends to replace “in kind,” though some blocks may have varying wattages.
“So for instance, Met-Ed might go from 150-watt high pressure sodium lights, then they'll have a row of lights on the same block that are 400 watts,” Hopkins said.
“And so when they when they replace in kind, a 90-watt LED is the equivalent to a 150 [watt high pressure sodium] and a 400 [watt high pressure sodium] is equivalent to a 230-watt LED.”
Hopkins said those varying wattages should be coordinated for proper lighting.
As for the overall brightness of the already-installed LEDs, that’s a slightly different issue.
“The last relamping was in 2011, so it's almost been 15 years. Those lights fade over time,” Hopkins said.
“I remember the relamping we did back in 2011, and although this is a bit of a different situation, we received tons of calls then that the lights were way brighter than the other ones. And it was true, because they were new.”
Overall, Hopkins said it’s just a matter of “communication and coordination” to resolve the issue.
'A practical reason'
Met-Ed/FirstEnergy Corp. spokesman Todd Meyers said FirstEnergy is currently in the process of converting about 85,000 streetlights they own from high pressure sodium, mercury vapor, incandescent, halite, and other materials to LEDs.
“The reason that we're doing that is because manufacturers have moved almost completely away from producing the sodium vapor bulbs and those other types of bulbs in favor of LED bulbs, so you simply can't get replacement bulbs anymore for those types of non-LED lights,” Meyers said.
“So there's, there's a practical reason that we're doing it, and LED lights also use less electricity.”
Meyers said the replacements were effectively funded via the new electric rates set in Jan. 2025, with the change only impacting the average household with a seven-cent increase on their monthly bill.
Easton and Reading are the first two municipalities in the Met-Ed region to see the light changes.
Meyers said that Met-Ed representatives who were working with Easton to resolve the issue were not available, but that discussions are ongoing.
Easton Sustainability Coordinator Brandon Sullivan, who has been working with Met-Ed on the conversion project, confirmed as much in a phone call on Wednesday.
“We are still working with Met-Ed to resolve the situation and better understand what needs to be done to mitigate the current lighting situation,” Sullivan said.
