New law means road lighting in Nova Scotia must be LED

Energy Minister Charlie Parker finalized amendments to the Energy-Efficient Appliances Regulations today, Sept. 12, that require all road and highway lighting in Nova Scotia must be converted to LED."With LED road lighting, Nova Scotia will save millions of dollars by using about half the energy of current lighting, and improve our air quality while reducing our carbon footprint," said Mr. Parker. "This only serves to strengthen Nova Scotia's position as a leader in combining fiscal and environmental responsibility."The regulations require Nova Scotia Power to complete its conversion by Dec. 31, 2019. Municipalities will have until Dec. 31, 2022, and now have one year to outline the conversion.The regulations are expected to save Nova Scotians about $5 million a year in energy costs alone after all the lights have been converted. Nova Scotia Power is proposing a new rate plan for streetlight customers which will not increase annual costs for seven years and offer a rate reduction if they use Nova Scotia Power-owned lights. Depending on maintenance, there could be additional savings. Municipalities that choose to own their own lights could also benefit from lower financing costs.
"Many of our municipalities have already switched over to LED roadway lights and are reporting operational savings," said Mr. Parker. "The province is also making low-cost financing available so more municipalities can take advantage of these savings sooner."The regulations were drafted by the Department of Energy after public consultations and meetings with the LED Working Group that includes Halifax Regional Municipality, Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, Efficiency Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Power.Nexxus Lighting (NEXS), a maker of LED replacement lamps based in Charlotte, NC, has announced that it will be receiving a $6 million investment from a private equity firm Aston Capital LLC. When the deal is finalized, the firm will own 73% of Nexxus' common stock. Robert LaPenta, chief executive officer (CEO) of Aston, will become Nexxus's new chairman.
The closing of Aston's investment is scheduled to be finalized by September 24, at which time Nexxus' current board members will resign.Aston has agreed to purchase 600,000 shares of convertible preferred stock at $10 per share. The preferred stock will be convertible into shares of the company's common stock at a conversion price of $0.13 per share. Upon conversion of the stock, Aston is expected to own about 73% of Nexxus' outstanding common stock. Aston will also initially have the right to appoint four members to its board, with the board not to exceed seven members.