Why are streetlights in Albuquerque suddenly purple?

Purple lights all in my lane,

Lately, they just don’t shine the same,

Cost lots of money but no longer white,

‘Scuse me while I fix these lights.

Albuquerque residents may feel they are living in a “Purple Haze” due to dozens of streetlights around town turning the city into the Jimi Hendrix experience.

The jarring difference, from white to purple lighting, seemingly without rhyme or reason, has been noted by those on social media and even inspired Reddit threads.

The explanation from city officials? A coating on the inside of at least 50 streetlights has worn down because they are defective, showing off the LED’s true color: purple. There are more than 1,000 such streetlights around town and, according to officials, they all may suffer the same fate.

“We have a total of 1,300 lights that could — but not necessarily — turn purple,” said Dan Mayfield, a spokesman for Albuquerque’s Department of Municipal Development.

Mayfield said the lights have a 10-year warranty and the manufacturer, American Electric Lighting, or AEL, is making good on fixes. He said the coating “degraded prematurely” due to the company making “a bad batch from June of 2017 to June of 2019.”

Mayfield said the affected lights were installed in 2017 and 2018 as part of a yearslong project to convert all city-owned lights to more energy-efficient LEDs.

“But not every light built during that period will turn purple,” he said. “Reasons aren’t exactly clear, but those that are near heat and vibration are more affected. Also those that have been on a long time. But not always.”

Mayfield added, “Other cities, too, have seen a patchwork of purple.”

He said AEL is now sending replacement light heads and the city’s lighting contractor, Dalkia Energy Solutions, will schedule to replace faulty ones as they appear. He said the city doesn’t pay for the replacement lights or the labor involved in putting them up, per the warranty.

“All of the newer fixtures have an updated coating,” Mayfield said, adding that they have been replacing the lights since September, when the defect first appeared in the university area.

He said the contractor is currently starting on a purple batch in the Uptown area before replacing some on the West Side as they “continue to assess the lights around town.”

“We saw the issue happening nationwide and we started to prepare for this last summer,” Mayfield said.

The phenomenon has been observed in cities across the country that have switched to LED lighting. The issue has been covered locally and nationally by Business Insider and Scientific American.

Albuquerqueans let their feelings be known over social media — some said the lights hurt their eyes as others said they prefer the club-like atmosphere it brings to the streets. Others took a shine to other arresting explanations, blaming aliens and a government conspiracy.

One person wrote, “It makes me feel like I’m in a movie.” Another commented, “City of Albuquerque bought lights from Wish instead of Amazon!”

Mayfield, the city spokesman, said the lights are just as effective, whether purple or white.

“The lights still produce the same amount of light, it’s just a different color,” he said. “If anyone sees a purple LED, they can call 311 and report it.”