Placentia City Council
AGENDA REPORT
TO: CITY COUNCIL
VIA: CITY ADMINISTRATOR
FROM: DEPUTY CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ PUBLIC SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE DATE: JULY 25, 2023
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF LS -1 OPTION E AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON
FISCAL
IMPACT: ESTIMATED SAVINGS: $2,356,340 NET AFTER RECOVERY OF INITIAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT OVER 20 YEARS
SUMMARY:
Through the adoption of the City's Five -Year Strategic Plan, City Council directed Staff to research the feasibility of replacing High Pressure Sodium Vapor (HPSV) streetlights that currently exist in the City with the newer Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. City Council also directed Staff to explore available funding opportunities to minimize the capital expenditures of LED replacement.
There are 3,656 streetlights throughout the City installed along residential, collector, and arterial streets. 3,463 of those lights are owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) and the City pays SCE a monthly facilities fee for each pole in addition to the cost of the electricity and maintenance needed for the lights. These types of streetlights are referred to as LS -1 lights and fall under SCE's LS -1 cost tariff (the remaining 193 fixtures are owned by the City). Staff has been working with SCE on the feasibility of converting eligible streetlights to LED using SCE's LS -1 Option E program. SCE has also agreed under a pilot program to allow the City to attach smart city devices onto a limited number of SCE streetlight poles which will allow the City to deploy various types of smart city applications to the community to enhance service delivery as well as City operations.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Approve the Southern California Edison Company Schedule LS -1 Option E, Energy Efficiency -Light Emitting Diode (LED) Fixture Replacement Rate Agreement; and
2. Authorize the City Administrator and/or his designee to execute the LS -1 Option E Agreement in a form approved by the City Attorney.
1.o.
July 25, 2023
City Council Agenda
July 25, 2023
STRATEGIC PLAN STATEMENT:
This item is consistent with the City Council approved 5 -Year Strategic Goal #5 to implement public infrastructure to meet community needs, under Objective #5.5, which is to transition all streetlights to LEDs.
DISCUSSION:
There are 3,656 streetlights throughout the City installed along residential, collector, and arterial streets. 3,463 of those lights are owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) and the City pays SCE a monthly facilities fee for each pole in addition to the cost of the electricity and maintenance needed for the light. These types of streetlights are referred to as LS -1 lights and fall under SCE's LS -1 cost tariff (the remaining 193 fixtures are owned by the City). Currently, a High -Pressure Sodium (HPSV) fixture is used on both LS -1 and City -owned streetlights. One of the goals of the City's Five -Year Strategic Plan is to convert all streetlights in the City to LED technology.
Staff has been working with SCE on the feasibility of converting eligible streetlights to LED using SCE's LS -1 Option E program. Since June 1, 2016, SCE has offered the LS -1 Option E tariff rate which is a turn -key program for local governments to replace aging HPSV "cobra head" streetlights with new, more efficient LED streetlights. This tariff facilitates streetlight replacements with local government concurrence and authorization after which SCE manages the implementation from start to finish. Under this program, the City does not pay an upfront cost for the conversion of existing HPSV "cobra -head" fixtures to new, more efficient LED streetlights. SCE absorbs the conversion costs using an incentive program offered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Under the program, capital costs are amortized through energy savings over a 20 -year period with zero interest.
During additional discussions with SCE, Staff was made aware that the LS -1 Option E program applies only to the conversion of "cobra -head" lights and not decorative style lights. The LS -1 lights with the decorative Mission Bell light fixture are located in medians in all arterial streets of the City. The City is eligible to convert 2,922 "cobra head style" SCE owned lights in Placentia to LED under the LS -1 Option E Program. SCE has agreed to upgrade the decorative Mission Bell lights to LED slowly over time on an individual basis when the existing HPSV light bulbs require replacement.
The LS -1 Option E program requires the City to enter into an agreement with SCE for the conversion. Once the agreement is executed, the City will be placed into a queue while other LS -1 Option E agreements are finalized on a first -come -first served basis. Representatives from SCE have indicated that the current queue is approximately six months until project implementation. During implementation, SCE teams will work during normal business hours for about four weeks to complete the project. Once the project is completed, SCE will begin the process of changing mapping and billing records which often takes several months to complete.
SCE will credit Placentia's streetlight billing back to the date of project completion to ensure savings are provided from the time the project was completed.
City Council Agenda
July 25, 2023
SCE conducted a rate analysis utilizing current rates and calculated that after implementation, the City Placentia will save $117,817 annually on the City's street lighting energy bill from SCE.
After the 20 -year repayment, SCE's calculations indicated that the City would realize a savings of approximately $171,269 per year, at the current energy unit rate, due to reduced energy consumption. This savings is realized because of the reduced energy demands of LEDs fixture versus the existing HPSV fixtures.
Over 310,000 lights have been replaced by SCE over the last several years in communities across Southern California. The new LED fixtures provide superior optics compared to the older generation HPSV lights, are dark sky compliant, and more effectively place Tight on the street surface with less light intrusion to residents. The lights also improve `visual acuity," allowing drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to see more clearly and with more detail during the evening hours, providing a safer night environment for our residents. SCE will utilize a standard wattage ratio to match existing lights and conditions on our streets and Staff suggests adopting the standard warm color temperature of 3,000 kelvin across Placentia.
Additionally, SCE has offered the opportunity for the City of Placentia to participate in a Smart Community Technology Attachment (SCTA) demonstration/pilot effort. The pilot is being offered to a limited and defined number of communities to ensure that SCE and the included communities can feel comfortable that attachments on SCE streetlights for SCTA devices can be accomplished safely, and in a way that does not hinder the provision of street lighting or utility services.
Placentia has been included in this pilot program offering and will be allowed to work with SCE to place customer owned SCTA devices on a limited number of poles (number to be determined) but likely not to exceed 10% of the standalone streetlights in the community. Devices will only be allowed on stand-alone streetlights — not on any infrastructure that is supporting or directly tied to distribution infrastructure (wood distribution poles carrying electricity to other customers as an example). The SCTA devices will be powered through a connection to the SCE streetlight and SCE will share the size, weight, and wind -loading requirements for devices to be placed and each device will be placed on either the WTR or TAP rate to account for the energy used and placement of the device. SCE will approve the sites for each device to ensure that the SCTA devices do not replace or interfere with existing SCE devices utilized to control distribution or facilitate metering systems. The devices will be the under the ownership, maintenance, and operation of the City. The devices will be placed by a qualified electrical contractor hired by the City with experience in working with street lighting systems.
FISCAL IMPACT:
SCE estimates that during the 20 -year repayment period, the City will save approximately $117,817 annually and $171,269 annually after 20 years. Over the course of the initial 20 years, the City will see a cost reduction of $2,356,340 in current dollars which is net of the embedded recovery mechanism in the LS -1 Option E tariff. • Total savings over 20 years — $3,425,380
City Council Agenda
July 25, 2023
• Total embedded recovery mechanism collection over the initial 20 years - $1,069,040 • Total net savings after recovery mechanism - $2,356,340 Prepared by:
Elsa Y. Robinson
Senior Management Analyst
Reviewed/a'`r • a•proved:
Luis Estevez
Deputy City Administrator
Reviewed and approved:
JennifefLampman
Director of Finance
Reviewed and approved:
�l /fJC aii
Damien R. Arru a
City Administrator
Attachments:
1. SCE Authorization/Agreement
2. LS -1 Option E Savings Outlook for City of Placentia
3. LS -1 Option E Post 20 Years Savings Outlook for City of Placentia