WARREN, Ohio - Municipalities across the nation have been buying up their street lights, taking back control of pricing and maintenance.

The acquisitions are typically sought after to reduce costs. If a municipality owns their lights they eliminate the monthly fixture fee and can switch to a lower rate with the utility company.

“Most of the time they are paying a lower cost just on their kilowatt hour consumption,” Neil Tolley, a Senior Energy Advisor from Tanko Lighting said. “Sometimes as much as 50 to 60 percent savings in annual operating cost.”

Many municipalities in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York have bought their street lights. Independence Ohio considered buying theirs in 2019 but never fully committed. 

The City of Warren is currently considering the option after an audit found they are being overcharged by Ohio Edison. Tanko Lighting conducted the audit and estimated it would cost the city around $200-300 per lighting fixture.

The city would have total control of the lights giving them the option to upgrade to LED’s with less outage rates, reducing the maintenance they would now be responsible for. 

It also gives them the freedom of deciding where new lights are positioned to try and improve safety. 

“Street lighting is really to prevent pedestrian fatalities, it's to reduce vehicular collisions, it's to help prevent crime like that's really the core of what street lighting is,” Tolley said. 

Tanko Lighting estimates the acquisition and upgrades to a lighting system like Warren's could take one to two years if both parties agree to the sale.