Over ₹1,340 crore to overhaul Hyderabad’s street illumination

More than a year after the street lighting tie-up with Energy Efficiency Services Limited was terminated, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has taken the first decisive step towards resolving the long-standing issue of street lighting by inviting bids for selection of an agency for comprehensive operation and maintenance of LED street lights in the city for the next 10 years.

Tenders at an estimated cost of ₹ 1,341.6 crore were floated on Friday for the entire city represented by the Core Urban District (CURE), which constitutes the three municipal corporations.

According to the conditions specified in the tender document, all existing street lighting will be replaced with higher wattage, high efficiency LED fixtures within two years. This translates to a total of 7.61 lakh LED street lighting fixtures along with bulbs. The existing 34,512 CCMS (Central Control and Monitoring System) panels and other switching points must be replaced with new ones within six months.

A dedicated central dashboard should be created for each Company (GHMC, Cyberabad, Malkajgiri) to enable real-time monitoring, control and management of street lighting system. For the maintenance of street lamps, there needs to be one batch for 2,500 street lamps, instead of the previous norm of one batch per 4,000 street lamps.

The Contractor must deploy 60 hydraulic cranes, one for each flat, during the replacement phase, and at least 30 hydraulic cranes during the maintenance period, and additional cranes when necessary. A dedicated CCMS maintenance team consisting of two technicians for each Department should be assigned solely to the maintenance of CCMS panels and related equipment.

Penalties will be imposed if the brightness percentage of street lights falls below 98% as stated in the Service Level Agreement (SLA). The project aims to improve public safety, improve nighttime visibility, increase energy efficiency and provide SLA-based proactive maintenance to minimize street lighting outages, the tender document said.

The estimated project cost is ₹ 1,341.6 crore, excluding applicable taxes, for a 10-year Comprehensive Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract.