The City of Ballarat has moved to LED lighting as the new standard for streetlights in the council area.
A recommendation moved by Councillor Amy Johnson saw unanimous support regarding introducing the energy efficient streetlights at a recent council meeting.
“I am thrilled to see this report and its associated recommendations come before council and commend officers on the high quality piece of work they have presented,” she said.
The 18 watt LED globes, recently approved by Powercor as a standard fitting, will be a requirement for all new sub divisions and phased in over the coming years for existing streetlights, eventuating in savings to operating costs of over $1 million dollars.
Reductions in green house gas emissions are also expected, estimated to reduce Ballarats’ carbon footprint by a significant margin.
Cr Johnson said that the reduced costs will make a big difference.
“In 2013/14 it is estimated that Council’s total operating costs for street lighting will be approximately $1.8 million and will be used to power, maintain and replace over 10,000 street lights across our city.
“Ballarat’s significant population growth, paired with rising energy costs will see this figure increase considerably in coming years.”
