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Philly’s LED streetlight replacement project offers a bright career path for at-risk young people

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In a second-floor workshop at American Power Electrical Supply Company in West Philadelphia, four young men are hard at work assembling and testing LED light fixtures that will soon brighten city streets as part of the Philly Streetlight Improvement Project.

“I do the testing to make sure all the wiring is correct and make sure the light lights up, make sure we did everything correctly,” said Nasir Anderson.

The project is paying extra dividends: While making the city brighter at a lower cost using less energy, it is also providing jobs and career training for at-risk youth and young adults.

Anderson likes the job and appreciates the opportunity — a foot in the door to a career in electronics that would have been difficult without this project. He was placed in the job by the youth advocacy group YEAH Philly. Co-founder James Aye said the job not only builds skills and pays workers decently, but it also gives them the chance to be a part of something bigger.

“It’s important for our young people to be involved in how we revitalize Philadelphia, where they can see their work at hand,” said Aye.

The lighting project launched in August 2023 but was 10 years in the making with multiple goals, including this employment initiative. Daiquon Cabe finds the initiative rewarding and sees it as the beginning of a career.

“I wanted to get in the electrical business from the start. This is a start right here,” he said.

The Philly Streetlight Improvement Project will replace every streetlight in the city over two years — 130,000 lights in all. It is currently about 14% complete. The young men working at American Power Electrical Supply will assemble about 40,000 of them.

Electrical contractor James Eley, who supervises the group, said they’re exceeding expectations, assembling more fixtures than projected. He’s also teaching them more than how to connect wires.

“They weren’t disciplined in having to be to work every day at 7:30 in the morning, and they’re coming along and they work very well together,” he said. “I’m really happy with the direction they’re going in. I think they’re going to be very successful at the end of this.”