Council leads the way with sustainable street lights

29 May 2017 | Media Release

MEDIA RELEASE 

Waverley Council will upgrade 760 residential street lights with more efficient lighting to help reach our environmental targets in reducing carbon dioxide levels, cut Council’s electricity bill and improve light quality.

Council is working in partnership with Ausgrid to replace these lights with efficient LED lighting over the next 12 months.

The new LED’s use just 17 watts compared to the current lights which can use up to 95 watts.

A successful trial was conducted in North Bondi in 2013. This 18-month trial resulted in energy use being cut by more than half. 

Ausgrid maintains street lights on behalf of local councils in parts of Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter Valley. This program will be the first of its kind to be executed within their regional boundaries.

Mayor of Waverley, Sally Betts said there are many benefits to the project.

“We will save $52,000 per year, but the real win is an environmental saving of 200 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

“That’s equivalent to taking 67 cars off the road each year or the energy 26 houses generate!”

“The environment is one of our top priorities at Waverley Council and we are constantly looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint. We live in such a beautiful area, we need to look after it for generations to come.”

Ausgrid General Manager, Customer, Pamela Henderson, said this accelerated program is the first of its kind.

Ausgrid has been leading the charge in Australian LED street lighting, first trialling the technology in 2013,” Ms Henderson said.

“This exciting partnership means an accelerated installation program resulting in a more efficient street lighting network. They use less energy, are easier to maintain and are expected to last up to 20 years.

“We know that streetlights are an important part of making our community safer and our experience also tells us the residents also prefer the lighting quality and colour.”

Ausgrid aims to deliver an efficient street lighting service to councils, providing fast response times to repair and maintain streetlights.

If anyone notices a streetlight not working correctly they can report it via the online map-based tool at ausgrid.com.au/streetlights or by calling the dedicated street lighting phone number on 1800 044 808.

The roll out will commence today and is estimated to be completed by December 2017.