Detroit, 4 Other Cities In Line For Lighting Help

DETROIT (AP) - The White House says Detroit and four other cities will get technical assistance from the Energy Department to help improve municipal lighting and energy efficiency.

The Detroit News reports that President Barack Obama's Administration is announcing the pilot program Friday for Detroit; Kansas City, Missouri; West Palm Beach, Florida; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Huntington Beach, California.

A High-Performance Outdoor Lighting Accelerator is being created to push the use of high-efficiency outdoor lighting. More than 500,000 outdoor light poles are expected to be replaced.

The newspaper reports that it's unclear how the program will be funded.

Detroit is in the process of upgrading thousands of streetlights. The first of about 50,000 new LED street lights - planned for the entire city - were installed in February in an eastside neighborhood.