City to Upgrade 60,000 Streetlights Through Solar Initiative

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass March 25 launched a new street lights initiative that will repair and replace up to 60,000 street lights citywide over the next two years. The program, which harnesses new solar street light technology, will help bolster public safety, slash Los Angeles’ decade-long backlog of street light repairs, combat copper wire theft, and reduce L.A.’s energy consumption while helping accelerate the city’s transition to 100% clean energy by 2035.

Mayor Bass was joined by city leaders to sign Executive Directive 18 to launch the new initiative between the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power or LADWP and the Bureau of Street Lighting or BSL to identify and install up to 60,000 solar street lights across the city over the next two years. This initiative will also address the more than 32,000 street light service requests by either modernizing these lights or repairing them. 

Funding for street light infrastructure has remained unchanged since 1996, and there has been a 1,200% increase in copper wire theft in the last 10 years. Repairs caused by copper wire theft can cost at least 4-times more than standard maintenance. 

Solar street lights equipped with integrated battery storage can provide dependable illumination even during grid disruptions, strengthening the city’s resilience. Solar street lights also do not utilize copper wire and are therefore less vulnerable to theft, more cost-effective over time, and help reduce emissions. 

In partnership with the city council, hundreds of solar street lights have already been installed in neighborhoods like Watts, Historic Filipinotown, Granada Hills, and Van Nuys.

This week, city council adopted a motion on solar street lights. Mayor Bass will work closely with the city council to address this citywide issue and deliver for Angelenos.