By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State Government has entered into an agreement with a private firm known as LEDCo Limited to enhance the state’s Smart LED Lightning project.
The Commissioner for Energy & Mineral Resources, Mr Olalere Odusote, noted that the project is designed to leverage private sector partnerships to accelerate infrastructure interventions in Making Lagos State a 21st Century Economy.
In a statement, he explained that this is another giant step in actualising the vision for a Greater Lagos by replacing all streetlights in the metropolis with smart LED lighting as part of the Streetlight Retrofit Project and in furtherance of the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Commissioner disclosed that the state government has concluded arrangements to execute a Streetlight Infrastructure Agreement with LEDCo Limited for the retrofit of existing conventional High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlight installations across the state to Smart Light Emitting Diode (Smart LED) lights for the Streetlight Retrofit Project.
“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 per cent of the operations and maintenance costs of streetlight infrastructure,” Mr Odusote explained.
He said further that a smart LED streetlight system is one of the enabling technologies for a Smart City, pointing out that the intelligent nature of this street lighting system enables remote management of streetlight assets and ensures enhanced performance management.
Mr Odusote averred that as Lagos State evolves to a Smart City, the utilisation of smart and energy-efficient streetlights is vital for improved government service delivery in areas of security of lives and property of Lagosians as well as a reduction in Co2 emissions from reduced energy consumption of energy-efficient luminaires, while also improving socio-economic activities in the state by enabling a functional 24-hour economy.
The Commissioner maintained that the Streetlight Retrofit Project underpins the present administration’s commitment to ensure full public lighting coverage across the state, stressing that 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.
“Full implementation of the Streetlight Retrofit Project is expected to span six months with an estimated project completion timeline of June 2021.
“The project will be implemented under the close supervision and management of the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, through the Lagos State Electricity Board”, he declared.
Modupe Gbadeyanka