Posted on Tuesday 8th July 2025
Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways.
A proposed contract to replace more than 15,000 streetlights across Staffordshire with energy-efficient LED lights could save the county £1.2 million in energy costs each year, if approved.
The proposal will be considered at Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet meeting next week and forms the next phase of the council’s Invest to Save programme.
If approved, the £4.9 million scheme would see thousands of older orange streetlights replaced with modern LEDs.
LED lights use less electricity than traditional orange streetlights and last anywhere between 20 to 25 years. Traditional streetlights typically last only four years.
The project would be delivered over two years by E.ON, which manages the county’s highway lighting network on behalf of the council.
Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, said:
“Not only are LED lights longer lasting, which reduces the likelihood of outages, they are 60% cheaper to run than the old streetlights they are replacing.
“They improve public safety too by making colours much more natural to provide better facial recognition for security and CCTV cameras.”
The upgrades would be funded through the county council’s Private Finance Initiative (PFI) reserve fund, which is ring-fenced for street lighting improvements.
Phase one of the Invest to Save scheme, approved in 2020, saw 47,955 streetlights upgraded to LED. This programme was completed six months ahead of schedule and has since delivered energy savings of £2.2 million per year.
The county council already specifies that any new road improvement schemes, asset replacement works and new housing developments should all have LED street lighting.
Peter added:
"So far, the Invest to Save initiative has saved £2.2 million in energy costs per year. By upgrading a further 15,000 streetlights, we expect to add another £1.2 million to those yearly energy savings, building on our commitment to both public safety and financial efficiency."
The proposal will be discussed at Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 16 July.
This work is part of a wider effort to improve energy efficiency across Staffordshire. Other ongoing initiatives include the Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) and Staffordshire Warmer Homes.
Over the past year, BEAS has distributed £1 million in grants to more than 200 local businesses, helping them cut energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint.
Meanwhile, Staffordshire Warmer Homes supported nearly 6,000 residents with free insulation solutions last year alone, helping them save £1.5 million on their energy bills.