BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the local government is studying the possibility of converting its existing streetlight system into the much accepted Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting system to reduce the cost of lighting public places.
“We have to continue finding ways of reducing expenses in our streetlight system to have sufficient savings that could be used to improve the system through the purchase of much cheaper but quality LED bulbs,” Domogan stressed.
The city mayor revealed an available budget of P12 million for the purchase of LED bulbs to replace the high-pressure sodium bulbs currently used for the city’s streetlights but the city’s technical personnel is still evaluating what would be the most practical solution to reduce the expenses of the local government on streetlight operation.
Earlier, Gerardo P. Verzosa, general manager of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BEN|ECO), called on the local government to pursue the conversion of its existing high-pressure bulbs to LED to reduce its expenses on streetlights.
Verzosa explained the cooperative wants to turn over the management of the city’s streetlights to the local government as it had been suffering from losses of income in maintaining nearly 9,000 streetlight fixtures in the city’s 128 barangays.
BENECO took over the maintenance of the city’s streetlights by virtue of an agreement wherein the cooperative was tasked to maintain the city’s streetlight system but the city will pay the power utility company an additional two burning hours over and above the original 10 burning hours being paid for city street lighting.
It was learned that 60 to 70 percent of the daily complaints being received by the radio room of BENECO are related to problems of streetlights around the city.
He suggested the ultimate solution to the current impasse between the city and BENECO relative to the operation and maintenance of the streetlights will be the realization of the city’s LED project to help reduce the costs of power consumed by the streetlights.
The City Council passed Resolution No. 446, series of 2011, providing for the terms of reference for the city’s LED project but the city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) failed to implement this noble project.
By Dexter A. See
