The city is looking to buy 11,181 light poles from the electricity provider and upgrade the fixtures to use LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, rather than HPS (high-pressure sodium) bulbs. The 10-year project is expected to reduce Huntington's annual expenditures on streetlights by almost half, said Bob Stachelski, the city's transportation manager.
An HPS bulb lasts about six years and uses about 39 kilowatts of electricity a month. On the other hand, LEDs can last up to 20 years and use 50% to 75% less energy than HPS, Stachelski said.
Purchasing and upgrading the fixtures, however, is expected to cost the city about $8.7 million over the 10 years, Stachelski said.
Additionally, because the city would own the poles, it would be responsible for maintaining and servicing the fixtures.
Currently, Huntington Beach pays Edison about $146 per light pole per year for electricity and use of the pole. However, should the city own the fixtures and convert them to LED, the total expense per pole could be less than $80 a year, Stachelski said.
During the 2014-15 fiscal year, which ends July 1, Surf City will pay Edison more than $1.8 million for power and use for the 12,565 streetlights that Edison owns, which is about half the city's energy expenditures, according to a staff report. The city can buy only 11,181 of them because Edison isn't the sole owner of the others.
Antonia Graham, the city's energy project manager, said Huntington Beach can expect savings of about $1 million by the time the project is paid off.
Besides upgrading the light poles, Graham told the City Council during a study session this week that it can turn the poles into Wi-Fi hot spots.
Graham said the city has been approached by Philips Electronics to see if it would be interested in the company's Connected Cities program, which installs telecommunication equipment to enhance mobile broadband service citywide. She added that the program could come at no cost to the city.
©2015 the Huntington Beach Independent (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
