New Melton street lights are saving energy and money

Leicestershire County Council finished upgrading 68,000 street lights to LEDs last year as part of a £25 million investment programme.

The authority says the subsequent 78.9 per cent reduction in carbon produced, from 14,752 tonnes in 2013/14 to 3,071 tonnes per year - will contribute to its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for highways, said: “I’m delighted that the LED scheme is already having a positive effect in the county.

“We are committed to providing an economic, safe and sustainable way of lighting up towns and villages and it is great to see residents and motorists already benefiting from the upgraded lighting.

“We will continue to build on this success as we work towards a greener future for the people of Leicestershire.”

The work, which began in February 2016, involved replacing existing street lights and removing unnecessary highway sign lighting.

The new lights are controlled by a central management system which provides flexibility in how lighting is provided - for example, enabling those in part-lit areas to be switched back on temporarily during the evening to help the emergency services at incident scenes if necessary or to dim or brighten lights if required.

The annual energy used for the year 2018-19 was 10.08 million kwh (kilowatt) compared to 26.9 million kwh in 2013-14 – a 63 per cent reduction.

The expected £2million annual savings will be achieved through a combination of reduced energy bills and lower maintenance costs, as the reliability of the LED bulbs is significantly better that traditional street lights.