A Question About Street Lights

Today's question: I would like to know how much energy a street lamp uses (particularly the ones lining the Alaska Highway). Who controls the hours that they are on?

Thanks for your questions. Most of the street lights in Yukon are owned, operated and maintained by Yukon Electrical Company Limited, including the ones along the Alaska Highway, so it would be best if you contacted them to get specific details.

We can, however, provide you with some general information. Most Yukon streetlights range from between 100 to 400 watts each, depending on the application and type of lighting required (for example highway lights are generally of a higher wattage than downtown lights). The lights have photocells in them that detect low-lighting levels and turn on and off accordingly. It is possible that if a photocell gets dirty, the light can stay on all the time until the photocell is cleaned or replaced.

Last year Yukon Energy carried out a pilot project in Dawson City, replacing some of the standard street lighting with LED lights. We found that the LEDs used about two-thirds less power than the standard lighting. We are in the process of reviewing the report that was done on this pilot project to determine next steps with regard to our own street lighting (primarily in Dawson, Mayo and Faro).