CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Upgrades will go into effect for streetlights across Corpus Christi.
The $2.1 million project, named #LightUpCC, is a result of a partnership between the City of Corpus Christi and AEP Texas. It is now in the last phase, determining which lights are left to replace.
It began last September and officials said about 15,000 streetlights were replaced from Calallen to Padre Island. Next up is finding out which ones were missed.
"Now we're in the last phase of the project, which is called cleanup. So, we go and determine what lights aren't accounted for," AEP Texas Director of Communications Omar Lopez said.
The third and final phase began in June this year and is scheduled to end in March 2024.
What was once a high-pressure sodium light bulb is now LED. About 300 lights were missed in one of the zones AEP Texas worked in, which Lopez said can happen when there is a mass change like this.
"Sometimes we miss those lights because maybe the pole wasn't owned by AEP Texas, so it's not on our inventory," Lopez said.
He said that can also happen since they do not own all streetlights or security poles in the city.
When the project is complete next year, Lopez said AEP Texas will look at the total number of lights and make sure they were all replaced. He said about 1.9% of the lights in the project are currently unaccounted for.
As for the ones that were installed, he said you should already see the change.
"Look at the lights in the dark," Lopez said. "Go outside, you'll really see a difference in the lights. You'll see that the area is brighter."
While AEP Texas installed the LED lights, the City provided funding. The project is estimated to bring $672,000 in energy savings annually.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said that will save taxpayers money with brighter and longer lasting streetlights.
"To light up the streets at night, which is really important, not only for driving vehicles or walking, but for safety and security in our neighborhoods," Zanoni said.
With the project nearly complete, Zanoni said the City's next focus is a lighting study. As the next phase after the LED replacements, it will determine a strategy for what areas need new streetlights.
Zanoni said any money left over after the study will be used to place the lights, if approved in the City's 2023-2024 Proposed Budget.
"In this budget, we recommend a million dollars to do a study to see where the gaps, to see where we need additional lights," Zanoni said.
Zanoni said some areas that need more streetlights are Flour Bluff Drive and some industrial parts of the city.
AEP Texas said the light replacements are happening as they install a new network across the state for them to electronically track their inventory. Once that's introduced in Corpus Christi, Lopez said it could help AEP Texas address a light that is about to go out before it does.
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