Council will consider complete streetlight upgrade

By Breyana Segura - Chief Staff Writer | July 20, 2023

In an effort to conserve energy and save money, Pearsall councilors are considering moving forward with a plan to convert the city’s streetlights to light emitting diode (LED) lights.
The consideration for the pivot from the city’s present high-pressure sodium lights to LED follows a presentation by American Electric Power (AEP) External Affairs Manager Jimmy Ernest.
“The HPS lights or the orange lights you have now are going away,” Ernest told councilors during a meeting on Tuesday, July 11.
Records filed with AEP show the city has 444 high-pressure sodium streetlights, eight mercury vapor lights and three LED lights.
“Pearsall does have ‘replace upon failure,’ which means anytime an existing light fails, not the bulb but the head, we will automatically replace with an LED light,” the manager said.
The plan would convert the remaining 444 streetlights at a cost of $137.86 per light totaling $61,000. Ernest said the council may choose to pay the full amount at the start of the project or in three segments. However, payment arrangements would be at the discretion of the project manager.
Councilors learned it would take two weeks to replace the 444 streetlights throughout the city if the project is approved.
Records show the city pays $7.66 per light head, .08 per kilowatt, equating to $15.98 per month per light. The proposed LED illumination system would cost $8.96 per head and total $12.64 per month.
“I would like to move forward with this within the next month,” Pearsall City Manager Federico Reyes said. “We could use funding from the ARP [American Rescue Plan]. We could save some money with moving forward with this.”
According to Ernest, the LED streetlights would provide illumination in a more direct pattern, are brighter and light the roadway but not the area behind it.
“To me, I feel much safer with LED lights,” Ernest said.
Should councilors choose to approve the project, the city would save an estimated $120 per month and it would take 46 months to recoup the $61,000 price tag.
AEP will start an asset control program in 2024, according to Ernest, that will provide accurate GPS location in town of each streetlight controlled by the company. The program will detect if lights are working.
“So instead of someone telling us the light is not working, the system will tell us and an order will be generated to fix it,” Ernest said.
Reyes says he hopes the project is ready for approval by the August council meeting.