Springfield councilors press Eversource, DPW on slow streetlight repairs and LED rollout

Springfield City Councilors and neighborhood residents pressed Eversource and the Department of Public Works on Wednesday over slow repairs to burned‑out streetlights, the pace of a multi‑year LED conversion and long wait times for replacement parts for decorative fixtures.

Councilor Victor Davila, chair of the General Government Committee, opened the meeting saying the agenda would cover “the lack of street light[s] in the Forest Park neighborhood, the amount of crews dedicated to replacing burnout street lights, and the schedule to replace burnout street lights.” He told the meeting he has received dozens of constituent complaints and demanded faster fixes.

The meeting focused on three interlocking problems: the utility’s multiyear LED conversion, day‑to‑day repair response for reported outages, and the inability to source parts for older decorative poles. Amy Henderson, Eversource’s representative at the meeting, said the company has completed “about 70%” of its five‑year LED conversion and “we just completed year 3 of the 5 year plan.” Henderson said the conversions began in January 2023 and that Eversource has been replacing eligible fixtures as crews encounter outages rather than leaving a non‑LED lamp in place.

Chris Sigmoid, director of public works, and other speakers described the city’s two‑track problem: standard cobra‑head or modern LED fixtures that provide roadway illumination, and older decorative poles that are increasingly impossible to repair because vendors no longer produce parts. Sigmoid said many decorative fixtures “do not produce the needed light from a safety perspective on roadways” and that the city has often added supplementary spotlights to reach required illumination levels.

On system size and backlog, councilors and staff gave several figures during the meeting. Eversource and DPW said the system contains about 14,500 streetlights in Springfield. Henderson said the company’s database currently shows roughly 68 reported outages citywide and that “our average response time to repair those now is about 30 days.” She added that the 68 count only includes outages reported to Eversource and that unreported outages would not appear in that total.

Councilors and residents pushed back on the 30‑day average. Davila and several neighborhood representatives described cases where lights were reported and remained dark for months, and they said communication about open tickets was inconsistent. Henderson acknowledged there are multiple work streams: some outages are simple fixture swaps a technician can complete quickly, while others require underground or civil work that cannot be completed in winter. “If it is an underground feed that we need to do some civil work … we have to wait until the spring to get to that,” she said.

Councilors also pressed Eversource on staffing. Henderson said that at the height of backlog work last year the utility had four dedicated crews working Springfield territory; after clearing much of the backlog “we are to 2 dedicated crews” now, supplemented by regular overhead and underground crews that respond to assignments. She added those crews are based in the Springfield work center and also serve neighboring communities such as Agawam, West Springfield and Southwick.

Committee members and neighborhood representatives described practical and supply constraints behind long outages. DPW staff said some decorative fixtures were custom cast decades ago and no replacement parts exist; when parts are available they are produced to order with lead times that can reach eight to 12 months. Sigmoid said replacing a damaged decorative pole with a modern LED cobra‑head is the city’s standard fallback because those items are commonly stocked and can be reinstalled quickly; the trade‑off, he said, is that many residents and historic‑preservation advocates object to losing period fixtures.

The meeting also covered the cost and funding arrangements. Sigmoid reported the city’s budget for streetlights in the current fiscal year is $3,358,000. Henderson said Eversource has invested in downtown electrical upgrades to support major projects, and she told the committee that the utility contributed about $7,000,000 for reconductoring and circuit upgrades tied to the Gemini housing project.

Neighborhood leaders asked for clearer reporting and an escalation path when problems persist. Harry Seymour, chair of the Forest Park Civic Association’s historical committee, asked whether residents could be told to expect repairs within 30 days; Henderson said that is the company’s goal for reported outages but reiterated that some repairs are delayed by underground repairs or by seasonal work constraints.

Councilor Davila closed the discussion by asking DPW Director Chris Sigmoid to provide the council a quarterly report on streetlight maintenance and replacements that would include the number of lights repaired, the number outstanding, and crew hours dedicated to Springfield service. Davila set an expectation that the first report be delivered by March 10 and said the committee will hold follow‑up meetings on decorative fixtures and maintenance scheduling.

What the meeting did not produce were formal votes or binding orders; the committee recorded requests and directions for staff and the utility and scheduled follow‑up inquiries. Residents were repeatedly reminded that Eversource accepts streetlight repair requests online and that callers who need help filing multiple outage reports can route those requests through council offices for batch submission.

For residents: Eversource’s public repair form was posted during the meeting as the utility’s streetlight reporting page (search “Eversource streetlight repair”). Committee members and staff also advised residents to supply the nearest street address to help crews locate fixtures more quickly.

The committee will reconvene on the topic; council leadership asked DPW to begin quarterly reporting and to coordinate with Eversource on outstanding lists and on any locations where winter conditions delay repair work.