Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Streetlights topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
AEP begins installing smart asset controllers on Alice streetlights to speed repairs
Summary
AEP Texas told Alice City Council crews are installing 'asset controllers' on more than 1,900 streetlight fixtures across Alice to report outages, provide GPS coordinates and trigger repair orders; installation uses existing smart-meter network and carried out at no cost to the city.
Patrick King, external affairs manager for AEP Texas, told the Alice City Council that crews are installing a new device—an “asset controller,” described as a smart photocell—on streetlight heads across the city.
King said the devices will feed status data into AEP’s network and provide precise GPS coordinates so technicians can locate and repair outages faster. “This device is going to be able to provide all of that data and information back to our internal system … and give a GPS coordinates on exactly where this light is,” King said.
King said third‑party crews are installing the devices now and that the program covers “1,900 plus locations” in Alice. He described an operational test period of about 90 to 120 days after installation to confirm communications and data reporting. King also said the work uses existing routers and the utility’s smart‑meter network.
City staff and council members asked how residential fixtures would be handled. King said crews will attempt to contact homeowners, knock on doors and, if needed, leave a door hanger to arrange access. He told the council there will be no cost to the city or residential customers for the installation and that the utility will continue to investigate customer‑owned lights when calls show the fixture is customer‑owned.
King also described AEP’s existing “replace on failure” practice: when older sodium‑vapor heads fail and are nonrepairable, they are replaced with LED fixtures. He said the LED fixtures are more maintenance‑free and will gradually appear where replacements are needed.
Council members raised questions about where devices are already visible and whether the asset controller replaces older photocells; King showed the unit and explained how it mounts to the fixture. He said the new controllers will be “behind the scenes” to city residents while enabling quicker, more precise repairs.
The council did not vote on this presentation. Staff said they will coordinate public notifications and follow up with the council on reporting options.
