Philadelphia will replace all of the city’s 130,000 streetlights with energy-efficient bulbs over the next two years with the dual purpose of showering high-crime neighborhoods in brighter light and cutting electricity use citywide.and is being financed through a more than $90 million bond issued by the Philadelphia Energy Authority.
The project does not include the construction of new streetlights, just the modernization of existing ones. Crews will replace old, high-pressure sodium streetlights with longer-lasting, light-emitting diode lights. They’ll also install technology that will allow for the lights to be monitored remotely, meaning the city will not need to rely on residents to report outages.
And according to Streets Department officials, the energy savings will be enough to cover the debt service for the project. Construction on the project will be carried out by vendors contracted by the city.“This is truly a godsend,” said City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who has advocated for the independent energy authority and its 10-year efficiency plan.