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Toronto announces streetlight modernisation programme
City’s 2026 Budget sets out a $577m investment through Toronto Hydro Energy Services to fund conversion of energy-efficient LEDs with smart lighting controls.
At a glance
Who: City of Toronto; Toronto Hydro.
What: The City and Toronto Hydro have announced a plan for an enhanced 10-year investment in Toronto’s streetlighting system, which will fund conversion of energy-efficient LED lighting with smart lighting controls. It also includes the ongoing renewal of Toronto’s streetlighting infrastructure.
Why: It aims to improve safety, reliability and sustainability of one of Canada’s largest and most complex streetlighting systems.
When: The plan says the programme will be completed by 2035.
The City of Toronto and Toronto Hydro have announced a plan for an enhanced 10-year investment in Toronto’s streetlighting system across neighbourhoods by 2035.
It aims to improve safety, reliability and sustainability of one of Canada’s largest and most complex streetlighting systems.
Energy-efficient LED lighting
The City’s 2026 Budget sets out a $577m total investment through Toronto Hydro’s subsidiary, Toronto Hydro Energy Services Inc, which will fund the conversion of Toronto’s streetlights to energy-efficient LED lighting with smart lighting controls. It also includes the ongoing renewal of Toronto’s streetlighting infrastructure.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhood, particularly at night. For too long, the City has taken a reactive approach to streetlighting, addressing outages as they arise rather than investing in long-term solutions,” said mayor Olivia Chow.
“This investment represents a shift toward modernising our infrastructure with energy-efficient LED lighting, improving visibility across our streets, parks and public spaces. It will strengthen safety in our communities, bring our streetlighting system into a state of good repair, and deliver better value for taxpayers through more reliable, cost-effective operations.”
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhood, particularly at night. For too long, the City has taken a reactive approach to streetlighting, addressing outages as they arise rather than investing in long-term solutions”
The streetlight investment will deliver substantial community lighting improvements for residents across Toronto’s neighbourhoods. Modern LED streetlights provide brighter, more consistent illumination and by deploying controls, can enable faster detection and repair of failures.
This improves safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Research shows that crime can also be reduced in areas with improved streetlighting when compared to areas without.
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Within the 10-year timeline for this investment, the programme will result in an overall LED conversion, prioritising those neighbourhoods with the greatest infrastructure need and highest safety risk. Toronto Hydro and the City of Toronto have worked collaboratively to prioritise neighbourhoods for upgrade.
"This is an important investment towards a streetlighting upgrade for Toronto as these needed funds will help modernise our streetlight system through the ongoing replacement of ageing infrastructure to a modern network that benefits all of us who live, work and spend time in Toronto,” said Jana Mosley, president and CEO, Toronto Hydro.
“This is a smart and forward-looking investment in infrastructure that leaves Toronto in a stronger position environmentally and financially for decades to come, resulting in community improvements and energy savings all the way around.”
LED streetlight technology provides considerable cost-savings for taxpayers and electricity customers due to lower energy usage, reduced light maintenance and grid demand, as well as automated system management though smart lighting controls.
“This is a smart and forward-looking investment in infrastructure that leaves Toronto in a stronger position environmentally and financially for decades to come, resulting in community improvements and energy savings all the way around”
LED streetlights reduce energy use by 40 to 60 per cent, with potentially another 20 per cent savings possible when smart lighting controls are added. Those smart lighting controls will allow for immediate alerts when lights go out, scheduling and dimming strategies and the opportunity to incorporate sensors and other modernisation technologies.
Toronto’s streetlight system includes approximately 173,000 luminaires, 57,000 poles and 2,500 of overhead and underground cables. There are approximately 15,900 LED luminaires currently in service. In 2005, the City of Toronto sold its streetlighting assets to Toronto Hydro under an Asset Purchase Agreement and entered into a 30-year Services Agreement.
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How will LED conversion improve nighttime pedestrian and cyclist safety?What energy savings can smart controls deliver across Toronto's streetlight network?How will smart controls enable faster detection and repair of outages?Which neighbourhoods will be prioritised based on infrastructure need and safety?What governance model supports the City and Toronto Hydro investment partnership?Citizen SecurityConnectivity & DataEnergy & EnvironmentLightingNetworkPublic-private partnershipsresilience
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