Carbon County is hoping to save nearly $250,000 in a decade through more energy-efficient lighting.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board spoke about a $96,568 lighting retrofit project that is in the works for up to three county buildings, which include the courthouse, courthouse annex and 76 Susquehanna St. complex.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, chairman of the board of commissioners, said that the county received a $48,284.34 matching grant from the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance for the NEPA Energy Efficient Lighting Grant program.The county will also put $48,284 into the project.Commissioner William O'Gurek said that the total cost to the county will be approximately $15,000 because of a $33,000 PPL rebate that is currently available."The project is a really good project," O'Gurek said. "We're glad NEPA helped us get the money, and as we go forward we will have to see how much it will cost us. We will do as much as we can."The county currently has over 700 fixtures and 51 exit signs that it hopes to change from t12 fluorescent to t8 fluorescent lights, but it has yet to be determined if the county will have enough money set aside for the project to cover the three buildings.He noted that the county will save approximately $24,000 annually by lowering its total electric consumption by 264,000 kilowatt hours.This means that over the course of 10 years, the commissioners are anticipating an overall savings of $240,000."It will save us energy, operation costs, optimize public resources and increase the energy efficiency in the county," Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said.The county prison board was also looking at a lighting retrofit project at the prison as a way to save money, but O'Gurek said no funding for that project was received.Gerhard said that the prison board is currently waiting because they were told LED lighting would be best.The commissioners have been looking at ways to save money on electricity the past few years.Recently, they signed a 36-month contract for electricity with TriEagle Energy of The Woodlands, Texas. The county will be paying 7.991 cents per kilowatt hour before gross receipts tax for the almost 3 million kilowatt hours used annually.In other matters, the commissioners proclaimed April as National County Government Month in Carbon.The board also voted to adopt a resolution joining the Carbon County Council of Governments.Nothstein was picked as the first representative while Gerhard was picked as the alternate.