In Pennsylvania, the U.S., Perkasie and Quakertown are the latest municipalities to apply for federal stimulus grants to save energy and money on streetlights.

The two boroughs collaborate to apply for a $1.5 million grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to replace the bulbs in their streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs - light-emitting diodes.

Perkasie plans to replace all 880 of its streetlights, and the state grant would cover 75 percent of the $969,675 price tag, said Manager Dan Olpere.

The remaining 25 percent could either be paid for out of electric fund reserves or through a bank loan. The borough may also be able to borrow the money from the vendor who installs the lighting, paying the loan back with the money Perkasie would be saving in lighting costs.

There are about 1,200 streetlights in Quakertown, and the manager Scott McElree doubts half of the grant money will cover every lamppost. said Scott McElree

About 50 percent of their energy consumption is expected to be saved in the boroughs. The existing 175-watt lights could be replaced by LEDs consuming only 33 to 50 watts of energy to offer the same brightness, McElree said.

Additionally, LED lights last longer than traditional bulbs. For streetlights, LEDs have a life expectancy of 20 years, McElree said.

Switching to LEDs is becoming popular with municipalities as they anticipate electricity deregulation next year. Hatboro, Doylestown and Newtown Township have all recently applied for grant money to make the change.

Borough officials believe they'll have a better chance of winning the grant by joining together because the state has been favoring multi-municipality applications.