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Brookshire staff begin inventory of more than 500 street lights amid $7,000/month bill; solar options discussed
Summary
City staff reported an inventory showing over 500 street lights for which the city is billed, with an estimated minimum cost of about $7,000 per month; staff said ownership/billing (CenterPoint/Hudson Energy) needs verification and proposed exploring solar conversions for small lamp poles.
City staff told the council they have identified more than 500 street‑light locations across Brookshire that the city currently pays to operate and maintain. Staff cited an estimated minimum monthly cost of about $7,000 and said the city needs to verify whether the poles and equipment are present, energized and correctly billed by the provider companies. Several poles appear to have been de‑energized and reenergized in the past, and questions remain about whether the city is being billed for locations that no longer have active fixtures.[1]
Staff outlined the complexity of ownership and service arrangements: CenterPoint may own certain equipment while a separate provider (Hudson Energy) supplies bulbs/service. The inventory effort will verify which poles are active, what wattage is appropriate for each location for safety and ADA compliance, and whether smaller fixtures could be converted to solar to reduce recurring costs. Staff said they have reported roughly 30 outages recently and will continue field verification and vendor coordination before returning to council with contracting options and cost estimates.
Council emphasized street‑safety priorities in trouble spots such as the truck stop area and asked staff to prioritize verification and short‑term repairs where outages create hazards. Staff said they will follow up with CenterPoint and lighting providers to reconcile ownership, service charges and possible solar or targeted de‑energization to reduce costs.
