A LED fixture Duke Energy has previously installed. The utility will work with the city of Franklin to convert more than 700 streetlights to LEDs.
Submitted photo by Duke Energy
Franklin and Duke Energy officials plan to convert hundreds of streetlights to LEDs after resolving a contract dispute.
The Franklin Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved agreements with Duke Energy on Monday to convert 719 streetlights to LED fixtures in city right-of-ways and park facilities. The city tabled the conversation twice to deliberate a clause they originally thought would apply to the city regarding potential negligence.
Franklin already has a large number of LED streetlights, like those along Jefferson and King streets, but also has some streetlights in town that are older, high-pressure sodium lights.
“[The older lights] don’t last as long, they require more maintenance, they require much more electricity,” said Mark Richards, city engineer. “And we have been given an opportunity to consider looking at converting those remaining streetlights to LED lights.”
With the approved Duke Energy agreement, 719 fixtures would be upgraded in city right-of-ways and park facilities, Richards said. The contract does not include private lights, like security lights owned by residents or businesses.
Converting to LED streetlights would allow the city to save money. The current energy cost for the non-LED fixtures is approximately $6,370 per month. After conversion, the cost would be approximately $4,655 per month. Over the 10-year contract, it will save the city approximately $205,815, Richards said.
There is also a one-time rebate that will provide an additional $22,230 for converting.
“That’s pretty significant savings, that’s about $1,700 a month times 12 months is a little over $20,000 a year,” he said. “… Residents also like the LED lighting better than high-pressure sodium because it’s a different temperature or color and just gives better lighting.”
The section of the contract that had initially led to concerns would have required the city to hold Duke Energy harmless and indemnify them from any and all liability, not just the city’s negligence. This originally gave City Attorney Lynn Gray concerns before the city discovered the clause wouldn’t apply to them.
Although normally the responsibility would be limited to $700,000, Duke Energy doesn’t have that cap like the Indiana Department of Transportation does, so it would’ve put the city at more risk to spend more money for liability. However, at Monday’s meeting, city officials said the provision doesn’t pertain to this city project, which they discovered through discussions with Duke Energy.
Duke Energy spokesperson McKenzie Barbknecht said the indemnification language doesn’t apply to the project and only pertains to instances where the company installs a lighting system in accordance to a customer’s specifications concerning design and layout. The agreement only requires a customer to indemnify and hold the utility harmless from claims resulting from the design and layout of the system.
In recent years, Barbknecht said Duke Energy has converted more than 1,000 streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs in nearby communities, including Greenwood, Whiteland and New Whiteland.
