The total costs could exceed €60 million for the replacement of 40,000 bulbs with LED lights, 20,000 lighting poles, and installing new lights at around 100 kilometers of the capital city's streets.
The modernization of the lighting network will reduce electricity consumption by 70-80%, estimated the technical director of the Riga municipality agency, "Rīga Light" Valters Krasts.
The new system will allow the use of a number of solutions that are not available now because the system is currently in “on-off” mode, but after the replacement the current will be available continuously.
"A major problem in the city at the moment is that there is no electricity available at all for a variety of solutions, such as charging electric cars or video monitoring.
"When all the streetlights are replaced in the city, they will be equipped with remote controllers, and this power grid can be used constantly," Krasts said.
If this plan will be supported by the Riga City Council on Wednesday, April 26, it will start preparing documentation for a public-private partnership this year.
