Politics & Government

Sheehan Bill Allows Municipalities to Own Street Lights

Narragansett Senator James Sheehan's bill will cut street light rental and maintenance costs for local cities and towns.

Owning could be less costly than renting when it comes to street lighting in Rhode Island’s cities and towns.

The House of Representatives last Tuesday approved legislation introduced by Senator James C. Sheehan (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown), 2013-S 0836Aaa, designed to help municipalities reduce street lighting costs by allowing cities and towns to purchase the lights from the utility company at a price equal to the cost of the lighting minus any depreciation.

Municipalities currently pay the utility company a standard rate (tariff) that includes the price of the lighting service and power costs, set by the Public Utilities Commission. The Sheehan bill would direct the PUC to set alternative tariffs without the fixture service costs and with different rates for different types of lighting, including newer, more energy efficient lights.

Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“When municipal budgets get tight, it is not uncommon for communities to turn off some of the street lights as a money-saving move,” said Sen. Sheehan. “Saving money over making sure the streets are safe is not a decision the municipalities take lightly, but considering the cost of keeping the lights on, it is understandable.”

A better solution, he said, is enactment of his bill. “Because the lights are owned and maintained by the electric utility, cities and towns are paying not only for the power to light the lights, but also for maintenance and upkeep of the lights, as well as rental costs for the utility poles on which the lights are located. Owning the lights would trim some of that cost,” he said.

Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sen. Sheehan said that municipal ownership of the lights would also allow cities and town to work collectively to manage the maintenance of street lights, saving even more money and, perhaps, responding more quickly to service calls.

Municipal ownership of the lights, he said, will also relieve the utility companies of the task of maintaining the lights, allowing the companies to focus on the efficient delivery of power to their customers.

The bill will require communities to do a cost analysis before they opt to purchase street lights, and it will also require that any municipal workers that may service street lights have the proper technical training.

The Sheehan bill, which was recommended by the Washington County Regional Planning Council, is co-sponsored by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, New Shoreham, South Kingstown), Sen. Marc A. Cote (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield), Sen. Frank Lombardo III (D-Dist. 25, Johnston) and Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III (D-Dist. 7, Providence, North Providence).

A similar House bill, 2013-H 5935, introduced by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown), was recommended for passage by the House Committee on Municipal Government on July 1, then passed by the Senate on July 2.

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here