Our Long-Range Plan’s vision for 2050 includes clean, reliable, and affordable infrastructure and utility services that are resilient to the effects of extreme weather. Achieving regional goals for power and other infrastructure systems will help deliver air quality benefits, increase comfort and quality of life, reduce utility cost burdens, and improve the performance of the buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure systems on which we all depend. DVRPC supports this effort through a number of programs and initiatives, including helping make power and utilities more affordable through cooperative purchasing programs.
Regional Streetlight Procurement Program
The Regional Streetlight Procurement Program (RSLPP) was a turnkey program from 2015-2025 that guided municipalities in the four Southeast PA collar counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery) through the entire process of converting to an LED streetlight and traffic signal system. By working cooperatively through the RSLPP, municipalities realized lower costs, benefited from shared technical expertise, and overcame procurement and contracting barriers. A total of 77 municipalities in Southeast PA converted 47,859 streetlights and 12,451 traffic signals to LEDs. Over 20 million kWh were saved annually, resulting in over $32 million in net project savings from these efficiency upgrades over 20 years.
Participating municipalities included Ambler Borough, Aston Township, Avondale Borough, Bensalem Township, Brookhaven Borough, Buckingham Township (Bucks County), Caln Township, Cheltenham Township, City of Chester, Collegeville Borough, Collingdale Borough, Colwyn Borough, Darby Borough, Downingtown Borough, Dublin Borough, East Lansdowne Borough, East Marlborough Township, Easttown Township, Eddystone Borough, Glenolden Borough, Green Lane Borough, Hatfield Township, Haverford Township, Ivyland Borough, Jenkintown Borough, Kennett Square Borough, Langhorne Manor Borough, Lansdale Borough, Lansdowne Borough, Limerick Township, Lower Chichester Township, Lower Gwynedd Township, Lower Moreland Township, Lower Pottsgrove Township, Lower Salford Township, Malvern Borough, Marcus Hook Borough, Media Borough, Middletown Township, Millbourne Borough, Montgomery Township, Morton Borough, Narberth Borough, New Britain Township, New Garden Township, New Hope Borough, Newtown Borough (Bucks County), Newtown Township (Bucks County), Newtown Township (Delaware County), Norristown Borough, North Wales Borough, Oxford Borough (Chester County), Parkside Borough, Penndel Borough, Phoenixville Borough, Radnor Township, Rockledge Borough, Rutledge Borough, Schwenksville Borough, Skippack Township, South Coatesville Borough, Springfield Township, Towamencin Township, Trainer Borough (Delaware County), Trappe Borough, Tredyffrin Township, Tullytown Borough (Bucks County), Upper Dublin Township, Upper Gwynedd Township, Upper Moreland Township, Upper Providence Township, Uwchlan Township, Warrington Township, West Brandywine Township (Chester County), West Grove Borough, Whitemarsh Township, and Yeadon Borough.
Learn more about this program in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Pa. towns are saving millions by teaming up to buy LED lights. It could be a national model."
Pilot to Facilitate Collaboration to Reduce Residential Utility Costs in Southeast PA
This pilot supports coordination between providers of weatherization and home repair services in the Southeast Pennsylvania collar counties. Coordinating services will lead to more homes that are more affordable and resilient to extreme weather. Providers will test and refine communication, data sharing, and reporting practices needed to coordinate the delivery of weatherization and home repair services effectively. Lessons learned will guide future replication by additional partners in the region.
Regional Benchmarking Program of Southeast PA
Led by DVRPC and Green Building United (GBU), the Regional Benchmarking Program of Southeast Pennsylvania helps municipalities implement a coordinated regional approach to building benchmarking policies. Municipalities receive technical support from DVRPC and GBU to develop a benchmarking policy which, if adopted, will require large buildings to track and report their performance annually. The program’s goal is to improve building performance by helping building owners understand how their buildings perform and identify opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce utility costs.