Arvada staff outline plan to buy streetlight system from Xcel Energy; council signals informal support for LED conversion

Arvada City Council staff and consultant Jason Tango told a March 25 workshop that the city could save tens of millions of dollars over 20 years by acquiring its streetlight system from Xcel Energy and converting remaining fixtures to LED.

The presentation summarized a two‑phase inventory and an economic analysis by Tango Lighting that compared three options: keep the current utility service, buy the lights and maintain the existing fixtures, or buy the lights and convert all fixtures to LED. Jason Tango, chief executive officer of Tango Lighting, said the city currently pays about $1,445,006.71 per year to the utility and that taking ownership and operating the system would drop the city’s annual cost to roughly $245,000 under the analysis presented.

"That means that the city stands to save almost $25,000,000 by taking over the system over the next 20 years," Tango said during the workshop. He estimated the one‑time acquisition cost at about $6,681,423 and said that roughly 2,000 fixtures still require conversion to LED if the city proceeds.

Why it matters: Tango framed the proposal as a public‑safety and efficiency measure as well as a cost saving. He noted the current utility model is largely reactive — the utility waits for outage reports — and said municipal ownership would give the city control over lighting design, outage notification, maintenance standards and options for smart‑city attachments such as environmental sensors or small‑cell equipment.

Council discussion focused on costs, service levels and operational questions. Councilmember Pfeiffer described the change as a way to reduce a fixed billing incentive that allows outages to persist, saying the city would have more direct accountability to residents. Mayor Pro Tem Worman and Councilmembers Ambrose and Rupert each voiced support for moving forward with the option to buy and convert to LED. Councilmember Ambrose said, "I'd go ahead with option 2 and proceed with the process." Mayor Pro Tem Worman said she would "like to see us proceed with option 2." None of those statements constituted a formal motion or vote.

Operational and legal issues raised during the workshop included pole ownership and relocation, the demarcation of where utility responsibility ends and city responsibility begins, replacement costs for damaged or deteriorated poles, and whether attachments on utility distribution poles would require a pole replacement or an additional charge. Jason Tango said the demarcation points would be clarified in negotiations and in a master plan; he also said Xcel Energy has indicated a willingness to sell the system, which Tango called "an absolute advantage."

Customer service and maintenance models were debated. Tango said the consultant’s recommended maintenance program would require contractors (not expanded city crews) and that a typical response requirement could be to repair reported outages within seven days. He projected a post‑conversion outage rate near 2 percent, which would translate to roughly 40 reported outages per year citywide.

Councilmembers repeatedly flagged light pollution and streetscape consistency as non‑financial priorities. Several members urged a master plan to set standards for fixture style, light levels and opportunities to remove or reduce unnecessary fixtures. Pfeiffer and others emphasized that municipal ownership would allow the city to set dimming or photometric standards rather than accept utility defaults.

What’s next: Staff said tonight’s workshop is a decision gate and that, if council wants to proceed, the city’s next step would be to begin negotiations with Xcel Energy and to return with negotiated terms, clarifications on pole demarcation and a recommended maintenance procurement approach. Multiple councilmembers expressed informal support for moving to that next step; no formal vote or ordinance was taken at the workshop.

The economic analysis, inventory and related documents were to be distributed to council after the meeting for further review.