It is estimated that more than 50% of US public lighting is owned by utilities. Utilities are important players in the development of modern energy-efficient public lighting. Many utility companies now recognize the benefits of deploying LEDs and are implementing connected public lighting platforms to improve customer service, meet municipal energy and emissions targets, and improve their bottom line by reducing maintenance costs.
However, some utility companies have been slow to take on leadership positions. They are often worried about the impact on existing business models, not sure how to balance regulatory and non-regulatory opportunities, and there is no urgent need to reduce energy consumption during off-peak hours. But nothing is no longer a viable option. Cities and municipalities are increasingly facing the challenge of changing utilities because they have the opportunity to reduce energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.
Utilities that are still uncertain about their public lighting strategy can learn a lot from those who lead. The Georgia Power Company is one of the pioneers of public lighting services in North America, and its lighting team manages approximately 900,000 regulated and unregulated lights in its territory. The utility company has introduced LED upgrades for several years and is also responsible for one of the world’s largest connected lighting control deployments. Since 2015, the Georgia State Power Company has implemented network lighting control, approaching 300,000 of the 400,000 regulated roads and road lights it manages. It also controls the lights (such as parks, stadiums, campuses) in approximately 500,000 unregulated areas that are being upgraded.
Post time: Sep-28-2020