Pittsburgh considering $2.2M study on LED streetlight conversion

Pittsburgh officials are considering moving ahead with a plan to convert the city’s streetlights to LED lights.

City Council gave preliminary approval Wednesday to pay The Efficiency Network, a Pittsburgh-based subsidiary of Duquesne Light, more than $2.2 million to conduct a study on replacing the high-pressure sodium lights the city now uses with more energy-efficient LED lights.

Kim Lucas, director of the city’s Department of Mobility & Infrastructure, said the LED options consume less electricity and officials anticipate there would be lower maintenance costs with the new LEDs compared to the older lights in place now.

“This will no doubt save energy, save taxpayer dollars and save carbon emissions,” Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, said.

Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, had previously expressed concerns about pivoting to LED lights, but said she’s started to feel more comfortable with the idea.

“I’m happy that we have been a little slow to adopt, because I think some of the early-adopter cities ran into problems,” she said, citing examples of blackouts and cost overruns. “I’m happy that we’re learning lessons from other cities.”

The study would analyze where streetlights should be added or removed throughout the city, Lucas said.

The new LEDs would have dimming options, Lucas said. City officials also are looking at fixtures that can be directed or shaded so that they lights the street without disrupting people in nearby houses, said Angie Martinez, DOMI’s assistant director.

Martinez estimated it would take about a year to conduct the study and design phase, and then about two years to convert lights across the city.

The city has been considering the conversion for years. In 2021, City Council authorized a $16 million investment in the LED modernization project, which would have included planning, design and construction.

The city did not move ahead with the project at that time. Instead, officials decided to split the contract into two parts, Lucas said. The city is now looking to move ahead with a contract for the first part, which will include design and planning work. Officials would award another contract later for the actual construction and installation, she said.

Since the measure was first approved in 2021, the project also lost a portion of its funding. City Council last year moved $1 million of American Rescue Plan Act money to instead fund an initiative that looks to alleviate medical debt for some city residents. Officials at the time said they planned to replenish the funds. Currently, the project has $15 million earmarked for it, including $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act money and $12 million in bond money, DOMI spokeswoman Emily Bourne said.

City Council unanimously voted in favor of the $2.2 million contract with The Efficiency Network to conduct the first phase of the project in a preliminary vote Wednesday. Council is expected to take a final vote next week.