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Nov 08, 2023

PSO to upgrade 1,400 Owasso streetlights with LEDs to ‘improve night visibility for everyone’

Asher Taylor, a lineman for AEP-PSO, installs an LED street light at 89th Street and Delaware Avenue in Tulsa in July 2020 in an effort to install new street lights throughout the city. The Public

Asher Taylor, a lineman for AEP-PSO, installs an LED street light at 89th Street and Delaware Avenue in Tulsa in July 2020 in an effort to install new street lights throughout the city.

The Public Service Company of Oklahoma will soon begin converting Owasso streetlights to new LED technology.

The transition will brighten roadways, street corners and public spaces for homeowners, drivers and law enforcement.

LED conversion of 1,441 streetlights across the Owasso community is set to begin Friday, July 29, weather permitting.

The new lighting will improve visibility for drivers and pedestrians, providing greater appeal and safety while strengthening connections in the community.

LED streetlights are more efficient and longer-lasting than the HID, or high-intensity discharge, lights they replace.

“HID lights are an obsolete technology and are being phased out industry-wide,” said Chris Thompson, PSO customer service manager. “They are becoming increasingly expensive and difficult to find.”

Unlike old-technology omnidirectional lights, the light from LEDs is more focused, meaning less of the illumination is wasted into the sky. LED lights also take less time to warm up and will eliminate the eerie yellow glow of old high-pressure sodium lights, improving night vision efficiently.

“LED lights produce a clearer light that will improve night visibility for everyone,” said PSO External Affairs Manager Michael Gordon. “I think our customers are going to be very happy with what they see.”

PSO funds installation and upkeep on the lights. Municipal funding will pay for the energy use at a discounted rate.

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