Los Angeles Launches Historic Solar Streetlight Initiative

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass launched a historic new Street Lights Initiative on March 25, planning to repair and replace up to 60,000 streetlights across the city over the next two years. Utilizing new solar streetlight technology, the initiative will help improve public safety, significantly reduce a 10-year backlog of streetlight repair requests, combat copper wire theft, and reduce the city's energy consumption, while also accelerating the city's goal of transitioning to 100% clean energy by 2035.

Mayor Bass, accompanied by City Council Member Monica Rodriguez and other city officials, signed Executive Order 18, officially launching the new initiative. This historic agreement between the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the Streetlights Authority (BSL) aims to identify and install up to 60,000 solar streetlights throughout the city over the next two years. The Solar Streetlight Initiative will also address more than 32,000 streetlight repair requests through modernization or repair.

“These infrastructures determine how we feel about this city and how safe it is,” said Bass. “The mountain of streetlight repair backlog that piled up before I took office was unacceptable-we’re addressing that to make residents feel safer walking their dogs, coming home from get off work, and parking in the evenings. Instead of patching up outdated streetlight technology, we’re using solar power to make our streetlights more reliable, theft-resistant, and cleaner.”

City Councilman Rodriguez stated, “Los Angeles residents deserve well-lit and safe streets. This initiative has taken concrete action, repairing thousands of damaged lights across the city, restoring long-neglected lighting, and enabling us to move to safer, less theft-prone solar streetlights. We will continue to work with city partners to strengthen infrastructure and provide safer, more reliable lighting for our communities.”

Currently, there are 32,000 streetlight repair requests citywide. Funding for streetlight infrastructure has stagnated since 1996, while copper wire theft has increased by 1,200% in the past decade. Repair costs due to copper wire theft are at least four times the cost of standard maintenance. Los Angeles currently operates over 220,000 streetlights, with an estimated 60,000 eligible for solar retrofitting.

Bass's "streetlight initiative" is a historic investment: solar streetlights equipped with integrated energy storage batteries provide reliable lighting even during grid outages, enhancing the city's resilience. Furthermore, solar streetlights do not use copper wiring, making them less susceptible to theft, more cost-effective in the long run, and helping to reduce carbon emissions.

Under an agreement between the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the Streetlights Authority (BSL), the program will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in phases to assess and install up to 60,000 streetlights over the next two years. With the cooperation of the City Council, hundreds of solar streetlights have already been installed in communities such as Watts, Historic Filipinotown, Granada Hills, and Van Nuys.

By prioritizing the repair and replacement of currently out-of-service streetlights, the city can immediately improve public safety and the living environment, while laying the foundation for a modern, sustainable streetlight network.

This week, the City Council passed a motion regarding solar streetlights. Mayor Bass will work closely with the City Council-including Council Budget and Finance Committee Chair Katy Yaroslavsky and Public Works Committee Chair Eunisses Hernandez-to address this citywide issue and deliver a solution for the citizens of Los Angeles.