Los Angeles is expanding its program to install hundreds of new solar-powered streetlights to curb rampant copper wire theft.
On Wednesday, Mayor Karen Bass joined Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and workers from the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting for a media event in Filipinotown, the latest neighborhood to receive the new lights.
The program kicked off last year in Van Nuys.
City officials hope the new solar-powered lighting will disrupt “the cycle of vandalism and robbery” that has been costly to the city, other municipalities, and state agencies. Thieves target electrical wiring on public property, substations, construction sites, and abandoned buildings, then sell the metal to scrap yards.
“Investing in sustainable infrastructure like these solar street lights is a win for our communities and our planet,” said Hernandez. “We’re reducing our carbon footprint, deterring copper wire theft, and tackling the streetlight backlog in the neighborhoods that need it most.”
The new streetlights will also be installed in Watts in the coming days, according to the city.
