Parma Upgrades 16,000 Streetlights to LED and Smart Controls

The Municipality of Parma has approved an addendum to its service contract with City Green Light, initiating the final phase of the transition of its public lighting network to LED and Smart technology, affecting around 16,000 remaining conventional lamp fittings. This move completes the city’s programme to upgrade all public street-lighting points.

The lighting retrofit is estimated to reduce electricity consumption by around 3,196,159 kWh annually and achieve annual savings of approximately €725,000 on energy costs. The upgrade also includes installation of advanced point-to-point remote monitoring and control systems, digital inventory-management and lighting inventory updates, enabling more responsive maintenance and real-time diagnostics.

The transformation of Parma’s network began in 2017, when the city established a structural programme targeting lighting quality, energy consumption and public-space safety. The current retrofit, leaving 16,000 points to be upgraded, is the final stage. The project has so far seen more than 26,000 light points upgraded, achieving a 67 % reduction in overall consumption compared to pre-intervention levels (data provided by City Green Light).

City Green Light has acted as technical partner and contractor throughout the multi-year rollout.

Technical & operational details

The upgrade will not solely be a fixture swap. Key operational elements include:

• The installation of advanced remote-control systems (point-to-point monitoring) enabling real-time supervision of individual luminaires and proactive maintenance interventions.

• Updating and digitalising the lighting-inventory database – improving operational transparency, maintenance planning and asset-management capabilities.

• Improved lighting uniformity tailored by urban context (e.g., main roads, neighbourhoods, parks) to enhance road­/pedestrian safety, and attention to architectural integration in iconic urban or heritage areas.

Financial & business implications

While the headline numbers (energy savings of ~3.2 GWh/year and €725k annual savings) provide a clear business case, the exact contract value for this final phase was not publicly disclosed by the municipality in the materials provided. However, earlier stages reportedly involved investments in the order of €10 million.

With the contract amendment now approved, Parma is expected to complete the lighting upgrade in the coming months.