Simi Valley to buy 6,700 streetlights
Simi Valley is buying over 6,700 of the city's streetlights from Southern California Edison and plans to make them more energy efficient for a projected 20-year savings of up to $10 million in electrical costs.
The $3.3 million purchase will apparently be a first by a city in Ventura County. Simi Valley was the only city in the county to take advantage of California Public Utilities Commission regulations that opened a "window of opportunity" in 2015 to allow local governments to acquire the Edison streetlights, Simi Valley's economic development director, Brian Gabler, wrote in a memo to the City Council this month.
The council approved the purchase of the 6,748 streetlights at its meeting last week. It is expected to approve a $2 million-plus contract with one of three vendors next month to be the city's consultant in converting the lights from high-pressure sodium to more energy efficient light-emitting diode, or LED. The consultant will also perform inventory and long-term maintenance.
Related content:
- Simi terminates lease for Under One Roof building
- Former Simi mayor, county supervisor dies
- Shoplifting caught on camera in Simi Valley
While Edison owns the streetlights, the city pays for the electricity to run them. Purchasing them and converting them to LED "will greatly reduce the energy consumed by streetlights and provide a cost saving to the city," Gabler wrote.
Even after shelling out more than $5 million for the purchase and a vendor, the city will save money in the long run, Gabler said Monday.
Savings in electricity costs can be as much as $510,000 annually or up to $10 million over 20 years, he said.
"It comes out favorable, even factoring in financing costs," he said. "It's a good deal."
After the California Public Utilities Commission opened the door for cities to buy the streetlights, Simi Valley, "recognizing the potential for significant cost savings," paid a $10,000 fee to have Edison perform a valuation and appraisal of the city's streetlight system, Gabler wrote.
In November 2015, Edison provided the city with a nonnegotiable purchase price of $3.3 million, he wrote.
In September, the City Council authorized city staff to negotiate a purchase agreement with Edison.
The council approved the agreement last week on a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Glen Becerra abstaining to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Becerra used to work for Edison.
Other cities outside of Ventura County are also pursuing the purchase of streetlights from Edison, Gabler wrote. They include Lancaster, West Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Orange and Rancho Cucamonga.