On the evening of March 23, the lighting rate of urban roads in Hengyang High-tech Zone, Hunan Province, remained stable at 99%. From over 3,000 lighting facilities that were out of order more than 50 days ago, only 77 remain, giving the city a completely new nighttime appearance. Without any additional special funds or staff, the Municipal Urban Lighting Service Center successfully won this "battle for light."

A Smooth Handover, Running the "Baton" Well. On January 12, the Municipal Urban Lighting Service Center and the High-tech Zone completed the transfer of management rights for lighting facilities. After signing the agreement, the center immediately formed an "advance familiarization team" to follow up on maintenance by the transferring party during the day and conduct inspections and recording at night, quickly understanding the facilities' condition and providing a reliable basis for subsequent precise maintenance.

Facing Challenges Head-on, Launching a "Defense Battle." A comprehensive inspection on February 9th revealed that over 2,200 streetlights were still out of order, and 1,024 landscape lights in six parks and squares were also out of service, with less than a week until the Spring Festival. Faced with the triple pressures of tight deadlines, heavy workloads, and resource shortages, the center adopted a "three no's principle"-no waiting for funding, no relying on additional personnel, and no shirking responsibility-and quickly launched a campaign to ensure the lights were operational for the Spring Festival.

Under the Party flag, a task force charged forward. On February 10th, a "Party Member Task Force" and a "Youth Task Force" were established. 26 key Party members and numerous young technicians gave up their holidays and began working day and night. In the cold winds before the Spring Festival, they averaged over 3 hours of high-altitude work per day, independently repairing 202 faults, embodying the belief that "every light that can be lit is lit."

Through careful budgeting, they achieved significant results with minimal investment. The center innovatively adopted a "technical backbone team + outsourcing collaboration" model, with three technical backbones leading an outsourced team to repair a total of 1,500 lights. Simultaneously, nearly 20,000 yuan in procurement costs were saved through "repairing and reusing old equipment," and a "parts sharing warehouse" was established to achieve precise material allocation. During the critical period, total material consumption was only 60% of the regular budget.

Long-term consolidation, from "Spring Festival guarantee" to "normal lighting." After the Spring Festival, the center optimized the "zoning and staggered maintenance" mechanism, improving overall maintenance efficiency by 60%. From mid-February to early April, nearly 50 days of continuous work resulted in the repair of over 2,000 faulty lighting facilities, raising the lighting rate from less than 80% at the beginning to 99%. Ms. Liu, a resident of the High-tech Zone, remarked, "Before, I was always worried about safety when taking my child out at night in the dark. Now that the streetlights are on, I feel much more at ease."

Smart management, safeguarding a new starting point for lighting. The center's person in charge stated that this battle, conducted with "zero new funding and zero new personnel," demonstrated the team's ability to overcome challenges and their commitment to serving the people. Currently, the center is working to establish a digital archive of lighting facilities in the High-tech Zone. In the future, relying on a smart management platform, it will promote the transformation of lighting facility management from "passive emergency repairs" to "proactive maintenance and preventative upkeep," striving to make a 99% lighting rate a routine commitment.

As night falls and the lights come on, the relit streetlights in the High-tech Zone not only illuminate the way home for citizens but also reflect the sense of responsibility and public service of city managers. The victory in this "battle to protect light" is not just an end, but also the beginning of a new chapter in high-quality urban lighting management.