Gurugram plans ₹8cr centralised street light monitoring system across all zones

Cloud-based network to auto-operate lights using sunrise-sunset timings and send outage alerts, aiming to cut power bills and improve maintenance response.

The Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) plans to install Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) panels across all zones to centrally operate and monitor street lights through a digital control system, officials said on Monday.

More than 100,000 lights to be linked to a central server for round-the-clock status reports, with zone-wise panels and quicker fault detection planned. (HT Archive)

The project, estimated to cost around ₹8 crore, aims to improve efficiency, reduce electricity wastage and ensure faster fault detection and repairs, officials said. The system will also extend the lifespan of lighting infrastructure through regulated voltage and controlled usage patterns, they added.

According to civic officials, more than 100,000 street lights will be brought under a centralised network that will enable remote switching and real-time monitoring from a dedicated control room. At present, switching street lights on and off largely depends on field staff and contractors, often resulting in delays, lights remaining on during the daytime, or dark stretches at night due to missed operations, they said. Officials added that repeated complaints are received about lights functioning in some stretches while remaining switched on after sunrise in others, increasing the civic body’s power bill burden.

“This project is a milestone in the direction of making Gurugram a smart city. The investment will primarily translate into major electricity savings and better monitoring. At the same time, transparency and accountability in the street lighting system will increase. We are moving ahead with the tender and implementation process so that smart panels are installed across all zones at the earliest,” said Vijay Dhaka, chief engineer, MCG.

Officials said smart panels will be installed zone-wise across Gurugram’s four municipal zones and connected to a cloud-based server integrated with GPS-enabled tracking. The system will operate lights automatically based on pre-fed sunrise and sunset timings and send instant alerts to the control room in case of faults or outages, along with exact locations to enable quicker response by maintenance teams.

The civic body has completed the technical evaluation process and issued work orders related to the project. Installation is expected to begin shortly and, once operational, the system will generate round-the-clock status reports of street lights across all sectors and wards, officials said.