Nashville Electric Service (NES) installed more than 6,000 LED streetlights throughout Music City this year, as part of a contract between the utility company and the city.
Last year, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star, former Nashville Mayor John Cooper signed a resolution approved by the Metro Nashville City Council, making NES responsible for furnishing, installing, erecting, and maintaining new LED streetlights throughout Davidson County.
Before the agreement, the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) was responsible for all right-of-way transportation-related functions for Metro Nashville, including road maintenance, traffic signals, paving, sidewalks, bikeways, bridges, capital roadway improvements, stop signs and pavement markings, parking, and permitting.
Now, NES and NDOT are bound by a 10-year contract – with options for extension – for NES to take over responsibility for LED streetlights throughout Davidson County with NDOT’s oversight.
Since January, NES has upgraded 6,183 streetlights with new LED technology, which, according to NES, “operate at a fraction of the energy costs required to power Nashville’s decades old high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights.”
The upgraded LED streetlights also have “smart photocells that allow real-time identification of streetlight outages and greater control of lighting levels on public rights of way,” which NES has said will improve safety for motorists and pedestrians.
NES is expected to replace more than 55,000 streetlights throughout Nashville and Davidson County with LED fixtures.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who sponsored the resolution while serving on the Metro Council, said, “The upgrades will slash energy consumption by 60 percent, save the city $20 million in energy costs, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 36,000 metric tons over the next decade.”
“This partnership project between the city and NES will enhance the safety and experience for all users of our transportation infrastructure – pedestrians, cyclists, and commuters,” O’Connell added. “Upgrading our streetlight fixtures to a smarter, more sustainable, and longer-lasting option will provide public safety, economic, and environmental benefits for years to come.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Street Light” by Ivan Radic. CC BY 2.0.
