VINTAGE LIGHTING SYSTEM SHORTING OUT

The Public Works Services Department has received reports of non-functioning streetlights on Altura Rd. Upon inspection, staff found a short in the 6.6-amp lighting feed. While the failure point has been identified, the equipment to make the repairs requires a special order and will not arrive for several weeks. The 6.6-amp series street lighting is an older electrical system where lights are wired in a single loop, and the current is kept constant at 6.6 amps by a regulating transformer. If one bulb burns out, the entire circuit goes out -- like the old Christmas lights everyone had.

Currently, Monte Verde Dr., Paloma Dr., Volante Dr., Altura Rd., and Vaquero Rd. are without street lighting because of the short. PWSD staff reached out to Police Department to request extra patrols while the area remains dark. This system, which is in several neighborhoods, has been problematic for over a decade and our staff has been finding creative ways to keep it alive; however, obtaining parts and inventing ways to keep it functional and safe is becoming more difficult. We may need to plan for a changeout of the system in the near term. When we investigated this previously, the costs were in the multi-million dollar range to completely replace the lights with modern equipment.