** This story was updated Sept. 27 with the locations where new LED fixtures have been installed. **
Plans to update the nearly 100,000 streetlights in OPPD’s service territory are moving forward.
In September, OPPD representatives met with municipalities, counties and other streetlight customers about the transition from high-pressure sodium fixtures to LED fixtures. The utility is finalizing which LED fixture design it will go with, looking at several options to determine which will be the best for customers both in terms of cost and function.
On Sept. 27, OPPD released a list of locations where the new LED fixtures are currently installed. They are:
The streetlight conversion plan came after evaluating three scenarios based on the value to customers in terms of environmental impact, customer satisfaction, financial impact and technological advances. OPPD determined that a five-year conversion to LED in conjunction with lamp replacement would best meet these criteria. Installations are expected to begin late in 2018.
Leading up to the conversion, OPPD will utilize fixtures on-hand until the current stock is depleted. After that point, the new LED fixtures will be in stock and ready to install going forward.
OPPD will install the streetlights one at a time as they burn out, rather than installing miles of streetlights at once.
Todd McLochlin, manager of Utilities and Right of Way Coordination at OPPD, said this process “utilizes existing maintenance cycles and provides a fair and non-discriminatory process for selecting the order for converting the fixtures.”
Over many years of collaborating with streetlight customers, they have come to rely on OPPD to provide expertise, not just in streetlight restoration, but also with knowledge of the latest technologies and design concepts.
“We will continue to have their best interests in mind, build upon our community partnerships and explore all of the opportunity and future potential that LED streetlight technology can bring,” said Steve Fanslau, director Customer Service and Government Infrastructure.
A total of 98,744 streetlights cover the roads and highways of the service territory. By converting the streetlights to LED fixtures, the municipalities that contract with OPPD would see a 25-percent reduction in their overall streetlight costs. This is why:
Beyond cost savings and reliability, when LED lights fail, they dim as opposed to going completely dark.
OPPD expects to see a decrease in streetlight outages once the conversion is complete, which will help reduce maintenance, a large component of the streetlight rate. It will also benefit the environment by reducing waste from materials and fuel.
Laura King-Homan is the supervisor, Brand and Communication Operations, at Omaha Public Power District. She has nearly 20 years of print journalism and design experience, including the Omaha World-Herald.
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