Energy-Saving Lights on Lake Shore Drive Fail to Light

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Oct 11, 2011 6:40PM

New energy-saving street lights that were recently installed on Lake Shore Drive were supposed to save money on energy costs and save time on maintenance. But maybe they're just saving too much energy -- about 100 percent -- because they keep on going out. The lights are faulty, and the city may have to foot the bill to replace the broken lights.

About 10 percent of the 2,140 energy-efficient ceramic metal-halide light fixtures have gone out, despite the fact they were supposed to last for seven to eight years. The Tribune writes:

In some cases, bulbs burned out and fuses blew. Other issues stemmed from the poor condition of the existing underground electrical infrastructure, officials said.

The contractor installing the new streetlights found deficiencies, including faulty connections leading from the existing wiring to the poles, as well as bad circuitry, officials said. They added that they cannot put a price on the fixes until they figure out the problem's extent.

So who will foot the bill? Well, the contractor says the city's poor electrical infrastructure is at fault, so Chicago should pay. The city blames the contractor's work. Wait and see.