More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About: Streetlights

Last Tuesday, the Burnsville City Council considered the humble streetlight at a worksession. Thought there are thousands of lights illuminating our roadways and sidewalks, few people know much about the system itself said Public Works Director Steve Albrecht.

Here is a brief rundown:

•There are 2,830 lights throughout Burnsville.

• Just 659 are city-owned: "We bought them we install them and we do all the maintenance on them. The only thing we pay out is electricity," Albrecht explained.

• 2,171 are leased from utility companies: Most belong to Dakota Electric Association, a small amount are from Xcel and a very small amount from Minnesota Valley Electric.

• What does it mean to “lease” a streetlight? "Through your monthly rates we paid for the installation of those streetlights initially," Albrecht said, but the utility takes care of upkeep, for a fee included in the lease. 

• If a leased light wears out, the city pays for a new one, which is then installed by the utility.

• All in all the system would be worth $5 million.

• Over a third of the lights date to the 1980s or before: Albrecht said 37 percent are over 25 years old and a portion of them have been around since the 1960s. 

• Only 2 percent use energy-efficient, modern technology.

• Newer lights can save the city 30 to 50 percent reduction in energy costs and operational costs, Albrecht said. 

• In 2012 the city will spend about $334,000 on energy to light the city.

"That a significant cost, so if we cut that in half we would save the city a lot of money," Albrecht said. "Any incremental savings would be passed along to tax payers."

in the weeks to come, the council will consider new means of funding lighting upgrades. Stay tuned.