Milpitas Smart City
Infrastructure Program

The City of Milpitas has undertaken an infrastructure modernization program designed to improve citywide services, conserve and generate clean energy, and reduce operations and maintenance expenses. The program consists of 10 different measures; the first phases of construction are underway now.

About the Program

Milpitas expects to reduce utility electricity consumption by more than 4.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, and to substantially improve the efficiency of the city’s water infrastructure. Together, these measures will move the city toward goals that will be set in its updated Climate Action Plan. At the same time, the conservation measures will generate enough guaranteed savings on operations and maintenance to more than offset the costs of the program. Finally, and most important, the infrastructure upgrades will make key elements of public systems and facilities more reliable – improving safety and comfort for Milpitas residents.

Solar Roof

Senior Center & Community Center

200 kW of solar, paired with energy storage, form a microgrid for backup power

Smart Meter

Residences & Businesses

15,600 smart water meters improve accuracy, automate readings, and offer leak detection capabilities

Streetlight

Streetlights

LED retrofits for 2,185 streetlights, plus citywide upgrades to controls and outage detection notifications

City Lighting

City Facilities

Interior and exterior LED lighting at facilities throughout the city

Wastewater

Water Management Infrastructure

Networked control system and process automation boost efficiency and reliability throughout the city’s water, wastewater, and stormwater systems

Faucet

Water Fixtures

Touchless plumbing fixtures in
city buildings to minimize
water waste

EV Charging

EV Charging

Public electric vehicle
charging stations

Sportsfield Lights

Sports Field Lighting

LED lighting retrofit to improve energy efficiency and visibility

Solar Roof

Senior Center & Community Center

200 kW of solar, paired with energy storage, form a microgrid for backup power

Smart Meter

Residences & Businesses

15,600 smart water meters improve accuracy, automate readings, and offer leak detection capabilities

Streetlight

Streetlights

LED retrofits for 2,185 streetlights, plus citywide upgrades to controls and outage detection notifications

City Lighting

City Facilities

Interior and exterior LED lighting at facilities throughout the city

Wastewater

Water Management Infrastructure

Networked control system and process automation boost efficiency and reliability throughout the city’s water, wastewater, and stormwater systems

Faucet

Water Fixtures

Touchless plumbing fixtures in
city buildings to minimize
water waste

EV Charging

EV Charging

Public electric vehicle
charging stations

Sportsfield Lights

Sports Field Lighting

LED lighting retrofit to improve energy efficiency and visibility

Partnership for Implementation and Design

After a rigorous request for proposals and due diligence process, the City of Milpitas selected ENGIE North America as its energy services partner to plan, design, and deploy each component of this infrastructure modernization program. City staff collaborated with ENGIE on an energy analysis. Together, they proposed 10 energy conservation measures that received city approval.

The measures fall into three broad categories:

Advanced Water Infrastructure icon

Advanced Water Infrastructure
Automated equipment, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, advanced water meters, and modern fixtures will minimize waste in the city’s water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, while providing infrastructure managers with better data on system health and performance.

Efficient Lighting Infrastructure icon

Efficient Lighting Infrastructure
LED lighting in city buildings, outdoor facilities like parks and sports fields, and streetlights will improve the City of Milpitas’ energy efficiency. It will also reduce the frequency of outages, improving safety and comfort for city residents.

Resilient Community Centers icon

Resilient Community Centers
Microgrids that include solar PV generation and energy storage will improve power supply resiliency for the city’s Community Center and Senior Center – keeping the lights on and doors open during power outages. EV charging stations will offer visitors convenient locations to charge their vehicles.

Project Benefits

Savings icon

$1.5 million/year in total savings on water and energy costs

Energy icon

Energy resilient community center and senior center with clean backup power

Safety icon

Enhanced resident safety through improved reliability of outdoor lighting

Electricity icon

4.2 million kWh/year reduction in electricity utility usage

Emissions icon

Emissions reduction equivalent to carbon sequestered by 3,910 acres of forests

EV Charging icon

New public EV charging stations in high-traffic areas

Project Timeline

2021
2022
2023
Public Building Water Upgrades
March 2021 – July 2021
Public Building Lighting Upgrades
March 2021 – November 2021
Water Meter Upgrades
April 2021 – May 2022
Sports Lighting
April 2021 – July 2021
Parks and Street Lighting
May 2021 – November 2021
SCADA & Remote Communication, Pumping, and Automated Water
Treatment
August 2021 – October 2022
Microgrid and EV Charging Stations
November 2021 – August 2022

Photo of Carmen Montano

Carmen Montano
Mayor, City of Milpitas

Quote Marks

With the community’s support – thank you, Milpitas! – we will effectively improve everyone’s quality of life for generations to come.”

City Resources

For more details on Climate Action Milpitas, including efforts to update the Climate Action Plan, please visit: www.climateactionmilpitas.org

For more on the Milpitas Public Works Department’s sustainability initiatives and resources, please visit: City of Milpitas’ Public Works Department’s site

View real-time water use from your new smart meter, get alerts about possible leaks, and track your consumption through the City of Milpitas’ WaterSmart web portal. Sign up today at https://milpitas.watersmart.com

Latest Updates

  • Microgrid commissioning (Community Center and Senior Center). – August 2023
  • Streetlight upgrades are now complete (smart controls and efficient LEDs)! – February 2022
  • City hall LED lighting retrofit project is now complete! – May 2021