The Lagos State government has finally sealed a deal with a private firm, LEDCO Limited, to replace existing conventional High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlight installations with Smart Light Emitting Diode (Smart LED) lights.
The streetlight retrofit project had before now been deliberated on, and approved by the state Executive Council in furtherance of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration.
It is part of the measures by the government in partnership with the private sector to make Lagos a 21st century economy through accelerated infrastructure development.
The state commissioner for energy and mineral resources, Olalere Odusote signed the agreement with LEDCO on behalf of the government on Wednesday, December 31, 2020.
One of the features of the LED lighting system is the use of significantly lower energy to produce the same amount of luminosity. In the pilot phase of the project, it was determined that LED lighting resulted in a reduction of up to 60 percent of the operations and maintenance costs of streetlight infrastructure.
A smart LED streetlight system is one of the enabling technologies for a smart city, as the intelligent nature of this street lighting system enables remote management of streetlight assets, ensuring enhanced performance management.
As the state evolves to a smart city, the utilisation of smart and energy efficient streetlights is vital in ensuring improved government service delivery in areas of security of lives and property of Lagosians and environmental sustainability (reduction in Co2 emissions from reduced energy consumption of energy efficient luminaires) whilst also improving socio-economic activities in the state by enabling a functional 24-hour economy, the commissioner said.
This streetlight retrofit project underpins the state government’s commitment to ensuring full public lighting coverage across the metropolis. The expected cost savings from the proposed retrofit in the medium to long term will be further utilised for the expansion of streetlight network across Lagos towards achieving full lighting coverage for all class A and B roads as well as designated public spaces.
The full implementation of the streetlight retrofit project is expected to span six months with estimated project completion timeline of June 2021. The project will be implemented under the close supervision and management of the state ministry of energy and mineral resources, through the Lagos State Electricity Board (LSEB).
