Latrobe City Council is currently completing a major light replacement project that will see 2,825 high-performance and energy-efficient LED streetlights installed in current lighting infrastructure across Latrobe City Council.
This project will save ratepayer money, reduce energy use and provide better visibility at night.
The new LED lights perform better, last longer and are more efficient than the existing lights.
This project will drastically reduce street lighting energy use by around 900,000 kWh and save Council up to $400,000 in yearly electricity and maintenance savings. The program of works will also reduce greenhouse gases by 900 tonnes each year.
Installation work will be completed in two batches, from now until mid-October, and from mid-November to mid-December 2023.
Mayor of Latrobe City Council, Kellie O’Callaghan said the new lights are a much-needed asset for the community.
“The Project delivers on our goal to create an environmentally viable and sustainable future through installing infrastructure that generates a reduction in energy use for at least 20 years. This will allow Council to direct more funds towards new projects to benefit the local community and improve energy efficiencies for future generations,” said the Mayor.
“There will be no major interruptions during the light installation period. The changeover of streetlights involves a single elevated work platform with two to three crew members. It takes less than five minutes to replace a streetlight, so any disruptions to traffic flow in your street should not last long. All cars can remain parked on the streets.”
The LED lights chosen by Council have been approved for use by AusNet, which is the distribution company that owns the lighting infrastructure in the municipality. The lights have been tested to ensure they meet relevant Australian Standards regarding safety and light levels. Trial results throughout Victoria have demonstrated that they have superior performance to the existing streetlights.
Other benefits of the new lights include greater lighting uniformity along the street, better colour rendering, less glare, more reliability and less maintenance.
The project is being funded by Latrobe City Council and the Federal Commonwealth Governments Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, with rebates from the Victorian Energy Upgrades program and Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) contributions available at project completion.
