Collierville is considering lighting the town’s streets in a more energy-efficient manner, and a study illuminating related factors will begin Monday.
About three years ago, Collierville leaders hosted a work session with PATH — a Tennessee-based company focused on helping government agencies consider and implement efficient practices. The suburb’s mayor and aldermen were open to the idea.
While the change to LEDs comes with a cost, it could save the money in the long run, an attractive offer to board members. The town currently pays Memphis Light Gas & Water Division about $1.7 million for streetlights, although residents don’t pay a separate fee to cover that cost.
The plan of upgrading to LEDs is not unique to Collierville. Bartlett and Olive Branch have also studied the idea, although there’s not a singular approach. Each municipality is slightly different, according to Rudy Watkins, PATH’s general counsel and vice president of development.
He previously told Collierville leaders the lights last twice as long as current streetlights and can improve safety throughout the city. PATH can respond quicker to a streetlight outage than MLGW, Watkins said.
In May 2019, Collierville officials authorized PATH to perform a feasibility study, determining if the town could save money by switching to LEDs. PATH reviewed the town’s energy costs and utility rate structure. In February, the board authorized another study to determine the feasibility to replace the current light poles with LED structures.
“We hope the savings will be realized in longer life of much better service and the LED streetlights will have much lower energy consumption costs,” Town Administrator James Lewellen told the board in February. “If our thinking is right, we should see significant savings in our street lighting cost.”
Collierville discussed possibly purchasing current streetlights from MLGW, but the Memphis-based utility was not favorable to that, town leaders said in a fall work session.
It’s not clear if town leaders will revisit that consideration. Watkins hopes a final solution benefits the town and MLGW.
The study beginning next week will take inventory of all the current streetlights and their condition. PATH will create an interactive map with those. The company will also look at a design for LED lights and outline energy conservation measures.
If weather permits, the study will end in early June. Evari GIS Consulting, working for PATH, usually operates from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekdays. Work could go beyond 5 p.m. but will end by dusk. If makeup days are needed, it’s possible tasks may occur on Saturdays.
Taking photos of current streetlights should not require workers accessing residents’ property. Collierville police will have a list of those performing the work and consultants should have photo identification and a letter from the town allowing their work.
When PATH’s study is complete, it will present the board expected replacement and maintenance costs, and a 20-year proposal of cost-savings and operations projections.
“That should hopefully be what we would need to know whether or not to pursue the conversion to LED streetlights,” Lewellen told the board.