The unsung heroes helping to keep our communities safe
Our team of lighting engineers are at work up and down the country, keeping streets and highways well-lit and safe. It’s an often-overlooked part of our national infrastructure – but it helps to protect communities, and the people who live (and drive) in them after dark.
It’s often said we don’t really think about electricity until we have to go without it. That’s definitely the case with street lighting – and with the nights drawing in, we’re only too aware of the difference they provide to our everyday lives.
Not only do well-lit streets keep the UK’s traffic moving after dark, they also act as a deterrent for criminal activity and lead to fewer traffic accidents, helping to provide a safer road network and environment for residents, pedestrians and drivers alike.
That’s where E.ON’s highways lighting teams come in. Hundreds of trained technicians spread throughout England – from North Yorkshire to Oxfordshire and from the Welsh borders to the eastern fens.
Operating from 11 depots across more than 25 counties, our accredited jointers and electricians maintain and install streetlights 365 days a year using modern streetlamp equipment and braving (almost) all weathers to ensure faults are repaired and the lights stay on. In the last year alone we’ve installed around 12,000 new streetlights.
At E.ON we take care of street lighting for local authorities, highways agencies and housing developers across the country, in areas like Oldham & Rochdale, Burton-upon-Trent and Stoke-on-Trent, where we’re on hand for any emergency call outs should they arise.
And it’s not just keeping our roads and pavements safe. The work we do in replacing older streetlights with modern, energy efficient equivalents can often result in significant energy bill savings for councils – freeing up much-needed funds that can be used to support their communities in other ways.
In Staffordshire for example, our technicians are upgrading more than 60,000 street lights to modern LED versions, saving the county council £1.2m in annual energy costs. With figures from the county’s Invest to Save scheme seeing energy saving results of 9.49M kWh for 2024/2025, that’s equivalent to electricity needed by more than 3,300 medium sized British homes. Local council statistics also show the new LED white light technology helps road users to see obstacles better, judge distances more accurately, and adjust their speed for the requirements of the road. This improvement has enhanced road safety.
Likewise in Solihull, we’re installing more than 1,000 new columns to deliver longer-lasting, more resilient infrastructure. These projects are part of a nationwide presence that makes E.ON one of the UK’s leading street lighting partners.
Luke Ellis, Head of E.ON Utility Solutions, said: “Efficient streetlights are a vital part of UK’s energy infrastructure that keeps our streets well-lit and safe for residents and road users.
“Our long-standing partnerships with councils and developers have allowed us to deliver dependable, efficient, and cost-effective lighting solutions that not only provide safer streets, they also play a role in reducing public sector costs and supporting the wider energy transition.”
E.ON handles projects from small public installations to major highways, working with local authorities to meet the specific demands of their areas.
We even have our own street lighting designers who are knowledgeable about energy use, environmental considerations, and the community impact of efficient street lighting. But our service doesn’t stop there, as well as planned services and testing, we’ll clean the lamps too!
All this work needs people, which is why we continually invest in our training and support. Working with electricity can be a dangerous job, meaning safety is of utmost importance and as an organisation we follow a set of Life Saving Rules, which apply to everyone. It’s on us to work safely and our employee’s welfare is at the heart of everything we do. Every job follows a set risk assessment which not only includes personal safety, but individual protection and wellbeing too.
Alongside that our apprenticeship schemes help to attract new talent into this field and ensure an ongoing pipeline of expertise. Lighting apprentices are based in E.ON depots, supported by experienced E.ON professionals and mentors in skilled training programmes that lead to formal qualifications. Most of the apprentices’ time is spent out and about in the community – including public highway and construction sites – learning the technical aspects of the role and developing a comprehensive understanding of the power engineering industry.
Since 2018, UK E.ON has enrolled 1,000 new and existing colleagues on to more than 90 different programmes across the company, spanning a range of levels from intermediate to higher/degree level, providing apprentices with a thorough, well designed and fulfilling learning experience.
E.ON is ranked the number one apprenticeship employer within the UK energy and utilities sector. It is also one of the top 30 in the UK overall