SHELBURNE FALLS — Eversource plans to replace 107 utility poles across the village to improve the reliability of the electrical grid, though the project has given Shelburne town officials pause amid their own LED streetlight conversion effort.

According to Eversource spokesperson Priscilla Ress, on the Shelburne side of the village, 102 poles will be replaced along South Maple Street, Maple Street, Bridge Street, Gardner Avenue, Severance Street, High Street, Mechanic Street, Cross Street and Main Street, and on the Buckland side, five poles along State Street will be replaced. The new utility poles will be taller, with stronger wires and sensors to allow for remote monitoring for outages.

“Reliability improvements include installing new, stronger poles, with new insulated wires, and sensors attached to some of the power lines allowing for remote monitoring and early detection of issues like faults or damage,” Ress explained. “These improvements can limit how many outages a customer experiences, especially during a storm, as well as [shorten] the duration of potential outages with our increased ability to remotely restore power quickly and safely.”

Eversource shared details of the project with the Shelburne Selectboard on Jan. 13, at which time Selectboard Chair Rick LaPierre said he was concerned with the project’s proposed timeline, as the town is about to undergo its own project replacing sodium-vapor lights with low-wattage LEDs, which was approved during the May 2024 Annual Town Meeting.

Selectboard members worried that installing the LEDs now, and then needing to have them transferred to new poles, could lead to breakage and the potential for increasing costs, should the town’s contractor need to make any repairs.

“It seems imprudent to proceed with the construction, or the changeover from the sodium-vapor [lights] to the LEDs,” LaPierre said.

The idea of waiting until after Eversource completes its pole replacements to switch to LEDs was broached, however, members of the Selectboard and Streetlight Committee said the reason the town wanted to switch to LEDs was to lower the town’s electricity bill. Waiting until next summer or fall for Eversource to complete the replacements would leave the town with hefty electric bills for several more months before the more efficient LEDs are installed.

Jeff Boettner, who serves on the Streetlight Committee, said Shelburne is expecting to receive the LEDs around Feb. 12, after which contractor RTE Energy Solutions will install them. Eversource, on the other hand, hopes to begin its utility pole replacement work in March, pending approval.

“By the end of February we would probably have all our lights in place,” Boettner said.

Eversource Senior Engineering Designer Peter Bednarz said he understands the town’s concern, but he feels Eversource crews would be able to install the LEDs at the correct height and angles.

“I strongly believe that if the town completes the LED conversion before the Eversource project, Eversource will properly transfer the lights to the new poles,” Bednarz said.

Selectboard members added that to ensure Eversource completes the transfer correctly, they would need to hire a consultant to come check the work and make repairs as needed. When asked if Eversource would be willing to cover this cost, Bednarz said he could not make any promises and he would have to check with management. He added that when Eversource crews replace the poles, they would be moving over the lights at no cost to the town.

The Selectboard encouraged the Streetlight Committee to look into cost estimates of having the work double-checked. Before Eversource can proceed with replacing the 107 poles, a public hearing will need to be held with each town’s Selectboard. Eversource hopes to gain approval and begin utility pole replacement work in March.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.