Signify and New York State Power Authority collaborate to retrofit more than 500,000 sets of street lights

Signify recently announced a partnership with the New York State Power Authority (NYPA) to support the state's advancement of the New York State Smart Street Lighting project. Introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo in early 2018, the project seeks to retrofit the state's more than 500,000 streetlights with sustainable alternatives.

Through this program, the New York State Power Authority provides financial, logistical, technical and informational support to cities looking to upgrade their streetlight systems. With smart connected LED street lights and Signify’s Interact City IoT lighting system, cities can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, making cities more livable. Since the start of the project, more than 50,000 sets of LED street lights have been installed or are being installed.

In addition, as an important part of the project, the New York State Power Authority has designed an innovative financial model, providing low-interest loans for lighting system upgrades in cities, and purchasing lighting assets from local equipment manufacturers. Signify is not only the technology provider for this project, but also a trusted advisor and strategic partner for the New York State Power Authority and cities.

"In addition to illuminating roads, road lighting systems are also an indispensable part of smart city construction. The application of smart interconnected LED lighting systems can not only reduce electricity and maintenance expenses, but also give full play to the value-added benefits of lighting systems." New York State Power Authority President and CEO Gil Quiniones said.

Abebe Woldemariam, the city's streetlight project leader, gave Interact City a positive review. “The platform offers more possibilities for city management and maintenance,” he said. “With Interact City, we can remotely monitor the system from a central panel and quickly identify maintenance needs. If any problems occur, the system will proactively notify the administrator, fixing the problem before it affects the normal life of the residents. That's great."

According to reports, the municipal management department can install various sensors on the smart interconnected street lights under the jurisdiction of Interact City to improve the quality of urban life and management level. By loading tilt detection, vibration and noise sensors on smart connected street lights, municipal authorities can maintain street lights and light poles in a timely manner, and identify areas that require noise reduction measures to protect roads and drivers. Interact City's open application interfaces (APIs) can share information collected by the sensors with the information systems of fire brigade, medical ambulance and other emergency agencies, helping them to respond faster. In addition, smart light poles such as BrightSites owned by Signify can also serve as access points for mobile phone networks and wireless networks (Wi-Fi), or provide charging for electric vehicles.