Politicians will decide this week whether to back a street light switch-off scheme which could see council energy bills cut in half.

Bath and North East Somerset Council is considering ways of saving money on its £790,000-a-year street light and sign illumination costs.

A council panel will consider three options - with the most dramatic being to switch off all lights on minor roads in rural areas including Peasedown St John, to turn lights on such roads in Keynsham and the suburbs of Bath off for part of the night, and to dim some lights in the city centre.

This option would save £335,000 - or 49 per cent of the total annual bill.

The most dramatic choice would see 2,700 lights turned off altogether all night.

The two other options would see lights switched off for part of the night across a wider area, or dimmed across a wider area.

These would save £275,000 and £224,000 respectively.

None of the options would see lights switched off on A or B roads.

The issue was raised at a council cabinet meeting earlier this month and Cllr Shirley Steel (Con, Midsomer Norton) said the scheme could conserve energy by saving electricity as well as having financial benefits for the council.

It will tomorrow be considered by the council's safer stronger communities overview and scrutiny panel, although the final decision will rest with cabinet member Cllr Charles Gerrish.

A report which will go before the meeting says the council has a five-year plan to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent before April 2014.

It says street lighting accounts for 15 per cent of the council's carbon emissions and a reduction in usage will help reach this target.

Other councils in the UK have undertaken trial switch-offs in villages and residential areas as part of plans to reduce their carbon emissions.

But concerns have been raised about rising crime and road accidents in the darkened areas.

The scheme was adopted by Powys County Council in Wales last year but this month it decided to review the move following a high number of complaints.

The scheme has been met with a mixed reaction in the city.

More than 200 people have given their view by voting for or against the scheme on the Chronicle's website and 54 per cent think it is a good idea.

But Cllr Brook Whelan (Con, Widcombe) said he would be opposed to switching off lights in his area.

He said: "In some places, particularly perhaps rural areas, I can see there can be merits to a scheme where street lighting is dimmed or turned off at certain times of the night.

"Ultimately it has to be a decision for local people in their own neighbourhoods, and I have strong reservations over whether this would be the right thing for us in Widcombe.

"Safety has to be the top priority and I believe that in city areas like Widcombe good street lighting plays central role in making sure residents feel safe and secure."

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said the decision should be carefully considered.

He said: "We have heard about these before in other areas of the country where councils are considering this for financial and environmental reasons.

"We understand they have a difficult decision to make especially if they are strapped for cash and it might be necessary to make these kind of changes to stop anything else having to be cut.

"But decisions like this need to be considered very carefully and councils need to do careful risk assessment to be confident that turning off street lights is not going to lead to any accidents and if it is going to be detrimental the scheme should be reconsidered."