The 2018 HES Scholarship recipients are Katie Ruth and Ethan Noel.  Katie is the daughter of Tanya and Jesse Ruth.  She graduated from Heritage Christian Academy and will be attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall with her major in Behavioral Neuroscience.  Ethan is the son of Tim and Cindy Noel.  He graduated from Hopkinsville High School and will be attending Centre College this fall with a major interest in Sports Medicine.  The 7^th annual HES scholarship recipients each receive $2,000 for their fall semester.

Thanks to all the applicants of this scholarship, to their commitment to higher education, and for the opportunity to allow HES/EnergyNet to help them realize their professional goals through education.

In partnership with the City of Hopkinsville, HES & EnergyNet has begun Project Shine, which will convert all of the existing street lights in our service area to new LED fixtures. The many benefits of LED street lights are listed below and HES has already began the process of converting mercury vapor (MV) and high pressure sodium (HPS) lights to equivalent LED fixtures. As your hometown power provider, we are always looking for more efficient and economical energy solutions for our community.

Safety- Better light quality, color accuracy and uniformity create safer streets for drivers and pedestrians as well as reduced crime activity.

Health- Lower energy and operating costs translate into a lower carbon footprint and are free of hazardous chemicals such as lead and mercury which creates a healthier environment.

Infrastructure- LED lights have a life span that is 4 times (over 50,000 hours) the life of HPS lights which means lower maintenance and labor costs.

Neighborhoods- LED lights are directional light sources, meaning that they can place the light where it is most needed (streets, sidewalks, walking trails, etc.) and reduce light pollution in neighborhood and residential areas.

Efficiency- LED lights are up to 80% more efficient than traditional lights with 95% of the energy converted into light. LED fixtures light instantly and work well in extreme cold temperaturs.