Emissions from the region’s 53,223 street lights represent 40% of the combined footprint of EAGA’s members. Replacing the region’s street lights with energy efficient alternatives remains a key challenge for EAGA’s Councils – particularly accessing the necessary capital required to undertake retrofit projects and the often complex internal and external negotiations.
In this critical area for Councils, EAGA’s advocacy activities will target:
- establishing an equitable co-investment model with the State Government to replace the region’s 16,000 major road lights where operating costs are shared with VicRoads. EAGA’s business case report demonstrates that the region may forgo savings of $2.1M and 7,592 tonnes of emissions annually if the lights remain unchanged. Replacing all major roads lights across the State could save ~$24M and reduce emissions by ~86,500 tonnes annually. An estimated up-front investment of $8.8M is required from the State to unlock and bring-forward a larger investment of $14.5M from EAGA councils, which would be recouped in ~5.5 years. Councils are not prepared to ‘bankroll’ asset upgrades of the State, especially when there is a clear compelling business case for both parties to work together. Read EAGA’s letter to the Minister for Roads.
- a reduction in operational costs through engagement with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and the Electricity Distribution Price Review (EDPR). Read more about EAGA’s work with the Victorian Greenhouse Alliances on the EDPR here.
- ensure that savings generated through smart controls on public lighting infrastructure (i.e. dimming, trimming and other energy savings options) can be captured on energy bills through participating in pilot projects and supporting changes to the National Electricity Rules.