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South East Regional Energy Group - Sustainable Public Lighting Trial
The City of Armadale is leading the SEREG group of councils - City of Serpentine-Jarahdale and City of Gosnells- to partner with Western Power, Synergy and Sylvania Lighting on a Sustainable Streetlighting trial in a bid to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information on this regional approach to public lighting see:
Case study - Regional Action on Sustainable Public Lighting - Western Australia Sustainable Public Lighting Trial
The trial, which is being rolled out as part of the switch your thinking! program, will assess the performance of two new sustainable technologies – 42W compact fluorescent light globes (CFLs) and 50W twin-arc high pressure sodium lamps – on four specially selected streets in Armadale and Kelmscott. The two trialled technologies are expected to use up to 33% less energy and will replace old and inefficient 80W Mercury Vapour lamps. It is expected that these two technologies will become part of the Western Power streetlighting range within two years which will in turn allow other WA councils to choose the new efficient technologies.
The trial will also enable Western Power to examine the economy of retrofits to existing streetlights in the Perth metropolitan area, and assess the performance of the two new technologies in WA’s unique environmental conditions.
Western Power has given in-principle support to phasing out 80W mercury vapour light globes from WA’s public lighting stocks over the next 5-10 years regardless of the outcomes of the trial.
New generation LED technology is also being trialled by another SEREG Council, the City of Gosnells, although it is expected that further improvements in LED technologies may need to be made before these can meet standards.
For further information contact Jason Menzies, Regional Greenhouse Coordinator, South East Regional Energy Group, phone (08) 9391 6032 or fax (08) 9391 6019
 Western Australia CCP Plus Advancing Action Project (2005-06)
During this project ICLEI Oceania assisted participating councils to:
- Assess the current public lighting context at council
- Set goals for sustainable public lighting
- Develop a Sustainable Public Lighting Action Plan
- Implement actions that develop sustainable public lighting
- Review and re-strategise council public lighting emissions and actions.
The CCP Plus councils who participated in the project were: Project Update (May 2008): Councils are currently implementing actions, including a CFL trial being scoped by the City of Armadale, LED investigations by the City of Gosnells, and extensive changeovers by the City of Subiaco. For more information, contact the CCP Public Lighting Manager, Ph +61 (0)3 9660 2244.
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A succinct overview of the regulatory environment and market structure can be found in Improved Streetlighting Study for Greenhouse and Safety Benefits - Institutional and Technical Review (Sage Consulting Engineers, June 2007).
This report, funded with a grant from the Sustainable Energy Development Office (SEDO) and conducted in conjunction with the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) and the municipalities of Mosman Park, Swan and Subiaco, concludes that local government could halve the energy consumption of public lighting without a drop in performance.
The Institutional Review section covers background information and current practice regarding public lighting in Western Australia, as well as underground power, improvements and funding. At present, the Government regards streetlighting as 'non-contestable'. As a result, local government tends to receive economically and environmentally unsustainable technologies from lamp suppliers.
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The Sustainable Streetlighting Group, which has been working on best practice and energy efficiency in streetlighting in WA for several years, is currently working with Synergy (energy retailer) and Western Power (distribution business) to address issues around sustainable public lighting and contestability.
21 February 2007: The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) held a public lighting meeting, which was attended by ICLEI Oceania, Synergy and WA councils. The meeting included: - Presentations from three lighting manufacturers (Phillips, Pierlite, and Sylvania) about energy efficient streetlighing technologies
- A discussion about Western Power's Load Table. Western Power is currently reviewing the technologies it offers to councils through its Load Table, and the results of this review are expected to be released in the coming months
- An update from discussions between WALGA and Synergy. It is now explicitly stated in public lighting contracts that councils can choose the lamp technologies listed on Western Power's Load Table at the time of lamp replacement
- An update by Mike Sage from Sage Consulting Engineers on the public lighting report commissioned by WALGA and the Sustainable Energy Development Office (SEDO).
October 2006: The Environment Policy Team at WALGA has been involved in advocating for the contestability of streetlighting, the transparency of ownership and responsibility for street-lighting assets and infrastructure, the provision of best practice lamp technology and the release of adequate information to Local Governments on streetlighting provision charges.
For more information, see the Environment Policy Team's comprehensive infopage, or contact Melanie Bainbridge, Environment Policy Officer, +61 (0)8 9231 2039.
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Distribution Businesses
| The largest distribution business in Western Australia is Western Power, which currently owns over 150,000 streetlights in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
Horizon Power, a regional power corporation which was created in April 2006, services the Pilbara, Kimberley, Gascoyne, Mid West and southern Goldfields.
There are also several other distribution businesses that service remote areas of Western Australia and which own streetlights in these areas. A complete list of licensed electricity distributors is available from the Economic Regulation Authority, as well as a map showing the various licensing areas. | Regulator | Economic Regulation Authority (WA)
Switch: +61 (0)8 9213 1900
The Office of Energy in the Government of Western Australia is responsible for licensing of electricity industry players, establishing a regulatory framework for the industry, and implementation of a wholesale electricity market for WA. Unlike most other states and territories, WA is not a participant in the National Electricity Market (NEM), hence NEMMCO does not play a direct regulatory role in WA. | Local Government Association
| Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA). Contact Melanie Bainbridge, Ph: +61 (0)8 9213 2039. | State Government Department
| Sustainable Energy Development Office (SEDO) and the Office of Energy. A list of licensed electricity retailers is available from the Office of Energy. For a comparison of green electricity products available in WA, see the Green Electricity Watch's 2006 Report. | Roads Authority | Main Roads WA is responsible for streetlighting of freeways and highways. Some major routes, such as controlled access roads, are a shared responsibility of Main Roads WA and local government. 250W HPS are typically used for new installations (but older 250W and 400W mercury vapour lighting still exists) with a minimum mounting height of about 13.7m. Any new traffic signals are LEDs, as are any upgrades.
Main Roads WA has design guidelines for lighting for road and public spaces, where the lighting is being built and maintained by Main Roads. The guidelines outline technical requirements for the design of roadway and pedestrian lighting and shared paths, associated electrical design, material and lighting software, and documentation requirements. For more information contact Bita Charehjoo by Email or on Ph: +64 (0)8 9323 4439. |
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WA Grants Directory
The Grants Directory is a compilation of grants and other assistance programs available to communities and local governments in regional and metropolitan Western Australia. The Directory contains programs provided by the Western Australian and Australian Governments as well as private sector organisations.
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