- History -

The City has been in the streetlight business for over 84 years. In 1916, there were about 35 arc lights used for roadway lighting scattered around the City of Redding. That was when the town had a population of about 3,200 persons. The City leaders, at that time, were very upset with the cost and reliability of the arc lighting system owned by the Northern California Power Company. In that same year, the City's Board of Trustees passed a resolution to build a municipal lighting system. In 1918, the Board of Trustees expanded the resolution to take over streetlights and the entire electric distribution system within the City. On December 21, 1921, the City of Redding took possession of the electric system within the City from Pacific Gas and Electric Company which had acquired the Northern California Power Company.

- Today -

Redding is a thriving, regional center with a population of about 87,000 persons. The City of Redding has about 2,800 lights on aluminum light poles and 4,000 lights located on existing wood distribution poles. The lights are used to illuminate roadways for those people that travel streets within the City of Redding after dark.

Street lighting design and installation is a cooperative effort within the City. The Public Works Department determines the necessity of street lighting. When lighting is justified, the Electric Department then engineers the placement of the lights. In all new underground subdivisions and commercial developments, street lighting facilities are furnished and installed by the project developer. The City sets the standards for the work and inspects the finished product. Installation of street lighting on existing wood poles is performed by the Electric Department. Once street lighting is installed and energized, the Electric Department maintains the streetlight for its remaining life. In order to reduce cost of materials to be kept on hand, the City uses standard hardware and fixtures.

There are also about 435 lights within the City that are security or night-lights. These lights are put up at the request of individual customers, and the light pattern is directed toward their property. Each customer requesting a security or night-light is required to pay the total cost of maintenance and operation of the light.  Over the last several years, the City has been converting existing streetlights to high pressure sodium lights. New subdivisions are required to install these energy saving lights upon development.

Funding and Cost - The cost of maintaining and operating lighting for the roadways within the City is presently about $80,000 per month. Historically, this cost has been paid by either the electric ratepayers or the property taxpayers of the City. Presently, it is being paid by the electric ratepayers as a part of the electric portion of the City utility bill. This change occurred when the State took funding away from the City to balance its own budget. To date, the State has not returned these funds to the City.

Streetlight Problems - The Electric Department maintains the roadway and night lighting systems, but also relies on customer input as to the location of non-operating lights or day-burning lights. If you see a light operating incorrectly, please report it to the Electric Department's Scheduling Center (phone 245-7000), which is staffed 24- hours a day.  Typical problems are the light will not turn on or the light stays on all the time.

To report a streetlight problem:

Phone 245-7000 or 224-4384 or e-mail: pcc@ci.redding.ca.us