The ACT’s 80,000 streetlights are in for an upgrade from 1 May when private contractor Electrix takes over their management.
Minister for Transport and City Services, Meegan Fitzharris said the company would deliver a total solution for the maintenance, upgrade and power supply of the Territory’s streetlights.
“This will be the start of a seven-year partnership that will focus on three key outcomes: keeping the lights on, getting energy efficiency and contributing to Canberra being a smart city,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“It is the first energy performance contract for streetlight services in Australia and is a great market-based solution for upgrading and maintaining our streetlights.”
She said that under the contract, the contractor would ensure broken lamps were replaced within two days instead of the current 10 days, and it would vastly improve the energy efficiency of the network.
“A significant proportion of the ACT’s streetlights will be upgraded as part of this new contract, delivering new LED lamps to streetlights in areas that currently have the oldest and most inefficient incandescent lights,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“A new digital control maintenance management system will also be delivered as part of the upgrade to offer real-time monitoring of the network to automatically detect faults such as lamp failures or cable problems.”
She said the contractor would also review the safety of streetlights.
“We want to ensure our streetlights are safe and working properly, but it’s important for the public to be aware and remember that electrical assets should be treated with care,” Ms Fitzharris said.
