The MEARIE Blog

Streetlighting maintenance, monitoring, and design/build work has become common among MEARIE Members. Negotiating a fair and balanced contract when embarking on this work is essential to managing your risk. Streetlighting claims continue to trend in both frequency and severity across LDC Affiliates and municipalities in Ontario. Within the MEARIE Membership, one of the top three single largest claims relates to an LDC Affiliate design project that reached completion fifteen years before the accident/injury occurred and well after the LDC Affiliate had discontinued providing streetlight maintenance and monitoring services to the area.

MEARIE has developed this Streetlighting Contracts Resource to provide guidance and tips for contract development and practices. This resource includes:

• An overview of streetlighting claims and the importance of balanced risk allocation in contracts.
• Contract Basics – Key elements to include in contracts, such as legal entities, scope of work, and limitations on liability.
• Streetlight Maintenance, Monitoring, or Design Contracts – Provisions for maintenance contracts, including save harmless clauses, service descriptions, and maintenance timeframes.
• Common Contract Issues – Common issues in contracts and best practice remedies to address them
• Additional best practices, such as handling streetlights attached to hydro poles and post-incident reporting
• Minimum maintenance standards for municipal highways, including inspection and repair requirements
• A discussion on the benefits of using technology for predictive maintenance, automated monitoring, and optimized energy usage

When negotiating contracts for streetlighting maintenance or monitoring, the primary objective is to effectively assess risk and reward while ensuring balanced risk allocation across all aspects of the work, from design to servicing. Contract negotiations can become increasingly complex, particularly when responding to competitive RFPs or engaging with municipal stakeholders. In this context, it is essential to remain aware of the risks and responsibilities involved and to carefully evaluate potential unintended liabilities and financial consequences.

Ensuring your contracts avoid unnecessary risk assumption and improper indemnification are key.

At The MEARIE Group, we remain committed to providing the most up-to-date insights on risk management and industry best practices. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out.