• Australia's National Electricity Market
• National Metrology Procedures
• Australian Public Lighting Statistics
• Australian Standards
• Greenlight Australia
• National Stakeholders

A lot has changed in public lighting in Australia since the first electric public light was installed in Tamworth, New South Wales, more than 116 years ago. Australia’s 1.94 million streetlights are now responsible for 1.15 million tonnes CO₂e per year. (See table: Australian Public Lighting Statistics.)

While growth in public lighting has been considerable and is expected to continue rapidly, there is significant potential for new technologies to reduce energy use in this area.

How does the national context affect my council?

The national context affects councils in terms of compliance with Australian Standards for public lighting; participation in the National Electricity Market; awareness of national lighting policies and frameworks such as Greenlight Australia; and stakeholder engagement. This page will help you develop a working knowledge of these areas.

For information on how councils might be affected by the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System (NGERS) see the Q&A Service.

The National Electricity Market (NEM) is a wholesale market for electricity supply in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, which trades around 185,000 GWh of electricity annually. It was established in 1998 in response to an Industry Commission report that recommended a major restructure of the electricity supply industry, with the aim of increasing competition and providing greater choice for end-use electricity consumers.

The bodies involved in the NEM include:

• The National Electricity Market Management Company Limited (NEMMCO), which administers and operates the NEM, ensures the security of the interconnected power system, and coordinates planning for the power system.
• The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), which is responsible for rule making and market development, including managing the rule change process, making decisions about proposed rule changes, and conducting reviews regarding the operation of the National Electricity Law and Rules and related matters.
• The Australian Energy Regulator (AER), which enforces and monitors compliance with the Rules, as well economically regulates electricity transmission. The AER issues infringement notices for certain breaches of the Rules, and brings court proceedings in respect of breaches.

The regulatory bodies AEMC and AER were created by the Ministerial Council on Energy (MCE) and since mid-2005 have assumed many of the regulatory responsibilities that previously belonged to state government authorities.

For more information see An Introduction to Australia's National Electricity Market (NEMMCO, 2005).

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A metrology procedure is a method for calculating the energy use of unmetered loads (i.e. streetlights and traffic lights).

The energy consumption of each type of approved load (light) is measured and is then recorded into load tables and used to calculate energy consumption for billing purposes. This is important for local government as most public lights are on unmetered supply.

Formerly, some states had their own metrology procedure and metrology coordinator, while others had none. Following a recommendation from a 2004 review by the Jurisdictional Regulators, NEMMCO established a Metrology Harmonisation Programme (MHP) and undertook a consultation process with the AEMC to develop a National Metrology Procedure and make associated changes to the National Electricity Rules.

A new National Metrology Procedure came into effect on 1 January 2007. NEMMCO  also consolidated the load tables from the three jurisdictions which have them (New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia) into a single document for future reference.

This change has three implications for sustainable public lighting for the states and territories participating in the NEM (Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania):

• NEMMCO is now the metrology coordinator in each of the states and territories and administers the new procedures.
• NEMMCO publishes and approves any amendments to the load tables for unmetered loads (where states have them).
• The process for putting an energy efficient light (or indeed any new light) onto the load table is described in Schedule 12 of the NEM Metrology Procedure. Schedule 12 does not apply to Tasmania.
  

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The main set of standards applicable to Australian public lighting is the Australian/New Zealand Standard 1158 (AS/NZS 1158).

It is important to be familiar with AS/NZS 1158, which specifies performance and installation requirements for public lighting, as it is up to councils to decide whether to light an area in the first place and which standards to apply in each instance. This is done on the basis of road type, operating characteristics, environmental considerations and desired outcomes.

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Classification of Public Lighting

AS/NZS 1158 divides public lighting into two main categories:

• Category V (vehicular or major road traffic). Applies to roads on which the visual requirements of motorists take precedence, e.g. traffic routes. A major road is an arterial or main road that carries a moderate to high volume of traffic. There are five sub-categories of Category V roads, depending on the nature of the road and its operating characteristics, that is, the type and amount of traffic it carries.

Category V lighting accounts for about one half of the total electricity used in public lighting, about 30 per cent of the total public lighting stock and about half of the total costs associated with public lighting. Mercury vapour lamps were once very common on major roads, but high pressure sodium lamps are now being used for new installations and spot refurbishment. Replacing mercury vapour lamps with high pressure sodium lamps can yield a 40 per cent energy saving with the bonus of additional light.

• Category P (minor road and public space). Applies to roads where the visual requirements of pedestrians take precedence, e.g. local roads, and to local area traffic management devices installed on such roads. Minor roads are collector and local roads that carry low volumes of traffic. This category also includes lighting that is applicable to outdoor public areas, other than roads, where the visual requirements of pedestrians are dominant, e.g. outdoor shopping precincts.

Category P lighting accounts for about one half of the total electricity used in public lighting, 70% of all streetlights, and half of the total costs associated with streetlighting. The dominant type of lamp used is the 80W mercury vapour lights, however more energy efficient lights can result in reduced energy consumption costs without increased maintenance costs.

Summary of Relevant Australian Standards

The following standards are relevant to public lighting. They are available for purchase from SAI Global, which provides an abstract for each one. 

• AS/NZS 1158.0:2005: Lighting for roads and public spaces – Introduction
• AS/NZS 1158.1.1:2005: Lighting for roads and public spaces – Vehicular traffic (Category V) lighting – Performance and design requirements
• AS/NZS 1158.1.3:1997: Road lighting – Vehicular traffic (Category V) lighting - Guide to design, installation, operation and maintenance
• AS/NZS 1158.2:2005: Lighting for roads and public spaces – Computer procedures for the calculation of light technical parameters for Category V and Category P lighting
• AS/NZS 1158.3.1:2005: Lighting for roads and public spaces – Pedestrian area (Category P) lighting – Performance and design requirements
• AS 1158.4-1987: The lighting of urban roads and other public thoroughfares – Supplementary lighting at pedestrian crossings
• AS/NZS 1158.6:2004: Lighting for roads and public spaces – Luminaires. Note: this replaces AS 3771-1998, which is still available even though it has been superseded
  
• AS 1798-1992: Lighting poles and bracket arms – Preferred dimensions
• AS/NZS 4065:2000: Concrete utility services poles
• AS 4282-1997: Control of the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting
• AS/NZS 4676:2000: Structural design requirements for utility services poles
• AS/NZS 4677:2000: Steel utility services poles
• HB 69.12-2004: Guide to traffic engineering practice – Roadway Lighting.

In addition, several draft standards relevant to public lighting are currently available. You are advised to check SAI Global's streetlighting and related equipment page for developments.

More information on Australian Standards

Read Lighting the Way: A Local Government Guide to Energy Efficient Public Lighting on Minor Roads (February 2007) by the Australian Greenhouse Office in the former Department of the Environment and Heritage [PDF document, 539KB].

You may also wish to contact the Joint Technical Committee LG-002, a committee of Standards Australia, which oversees the development and revision of public lighting standards.

Update: October 2008- Amendment of AS 1158 to alter the glare requirement
On 24 October 2008 the Australian Standards Committee (LG-002), which reviews the Australian Standard AS 1158 series, approved the alteration of the standard to allow the approval of low wattage technologies, such as T5s and CFLs.

Prior to this the standard disallowed the T5 due to the glare criteria of the standard even though the amount of glare from the T5's is around 30% less than the current 80W MV lights. This anomaly has now been rectified.

Greenlight Australia - A strategy for improving the efficiency of lighting in Australia 2005-2015 is part of the National Appliance and Equipment Energy Efficiency Program (NAEEEP). The NAEEEP is the principal means by which the Ministerial Council on Energy's (MCE) goal of energy efficiency is pursued for appliances and equipment. The MCE is composed of Energy Ministers from all state/territories in Australia.

Greenlight Australia looks at energy efficiency in lighting in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors (i.e. not just public lighting). Amongst other things, it contains an industry target for reducing energy consumption and sets out actions around education, creating a database of efficient technologies, and introducing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and labelling for various lamps, ballasts and luminaires.

Public Amenity Lighting Project

The Public Amenity Lighting Project, detailed in the Greenlight Australia Work Plan for the Triennium 2005/06 to 2007/08, aims to eliminate inefficient practices from Category V lighting. The National Appliance and Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee (NAEEEC) is working with Standards Australia to develop a holistic energy performance standard for Category V lighting, taking into account the lamp, ballast, luminaire, control system and overall design of each installation.

This energy performance standard is expected to take the form of a design energy limit for new Category V lighting installations, as outlined in the NAEEEC document Design Energy Limits for Main Road Lighting. Design energy limits favour efficient lamps, control gear and luminaires, as well as optimum lighting distribution and design geometry, while allowing a degree of flexibility for lighting designers. Victorian Roads authority, VicRoads, has adopted a similar approach in its Traffic Engineering Manual.

In most cases, the proposed design energy limits would exclude mercury vapour lamp technology from Category V roads, while allowing metal halide lamps to meet a Mandatory Maximum limit, and high pressure sodium lamps to meet a more stringent High Efficiency limit.

It is hoped that the project will subsequently be extended to incorporate Category P lighting.

Project update (September 2008): Although the Project was due to be completed in December 2006, there has not yet been any change to the relevant Standards, AS/NZS 1158. Changes to the Standards are expected to occur later this year.

Projects involving Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS)

Several projects in the Greenlight Australia Workplan revolve around introducing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for:

• Extra low voltage halogen transformers (project scheduled to start in 2005–06),
• Halogen and reflector lamps and luminaires (scheduled to start in 2006–07), and
  
• High intensity discharge (HID) lamps and HID ballasts (scheduled to start in 2007–08).

MEPS are mandatory standards that apply to many products – including lighting products – sold in Australia. MEPS prevent the worst performing products from being sold in the marketplace. They are not designed to promote the best performing products, but can be combined with policy measures that do have this aim.

MEPS for a certain product are specified in the relevant section of the Australian Standards. Currently MEPS only apply to two products that may be used in public lighting: linear fluorescent ballasts (AS/NZS 4783) and linear fluorescent lamps.

Project update (July 2007): MEPS for these new products have not yet been introduced.

Note: for your state or territory's stakeholders see the relevant section of State Information.

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For a useful explanation of the specific roles and motivations of each of these stakeholders, see Public Lighting in Australia – Energy Efficiency Challenges and Opportunities (Genesis Automation et al. 2006).