About 4,800 new energy-saving fixtures for county-funded streetlights will be installed beginning this month by Maui Electric Co. in partnership with the county Department of Public Works.

The LED streetlight fixtures will replace current high pressure sodium bulbs in streetlights, saving the county in energy costs, MECO said. The county also will receive rebates from Hawai’i Energy.

The first phase includes 1,889 fixtures along roadways in Kahului, Wailuku, Waiehu, Kahakuloa, Kailua to Hana and Olowalu to Lahaina, which will take until February to install.

A second installation phase of 2,931 fixtures is slated to start in early 2019, covering West Maui, Maalaea to Makena, Upcountry, Haiku, Kuau, Spreckelsville, Molokai and Lanai.

A district map may be viewed at www.mauielectric.com/LEDstreetlights.

Minimal traffic impact is expected during the installations, and electrical service to the affected areas is not expected to be interrupted. Pedestrian traffic on sidewalks may be detoured during installations, MECO said.

David Goode, director of public works, said the new lights will be safer for pedestrians and minimize the blue-light power output.

“The technology will also allow for future implementation to enable a fully controllable network to track outages, reduce power when warranted, or turn individual lights off completely say for turtle nesting,” he said.

LEDs are one of the most energy-efficient types of lighting, using a fraction of power compared to other types of lights. LEDs also typically have a longer life span, which should reduce long-term maintenance of the lights, MECO said.

MECO services and maintains more than 7,000 state-, county- and privately funded streetlights in the county.

The installation of the energy-saving streetlight fixtures resulted from a pilot LED streetlight project MECO and the Public Works Department collaboratively developed and launched in 2016. The pilot project involved the installation of LED streetlight fixtures along Maui Lani Parkway in Kahului to test and evaluate various types of LED lights. Public safety and community groups weighed in on the lighting.

For more information on the installations, call the Department of Public Works at 270-7845.