The electricity bill of the City Council of La Laguna has fallen in just two years by more than 100,000 euros as a result of the modernization of public lighting. The deployment of LED technology who is carrying out the Department of Municipal Services, through the company awarded the Effico service, is what has given rise to these savings, through the renovation of 3,120 light points between 2020 and 2021. The new lamps are much more sustainable and consume less than the obsolete sodium vapor ones.
Mayor, Luis Yeray Gutierrez, highlights as “fundamental” the improvement of the energy efficiency of public facilities and services, “not only to reduce the cost” of the electricity bill “which, in fact, is one of the highest economic expenses that since the Corporation we must face, but also because it is essential to reduce the levels of light and atmospheric pollution.
The councilor recalls that since the arrival of the current government team at the Laguna City Council, in June 2019, “we have been working intensively on various strategic lines to meet the objectives of sustainable development.” He vindicates the municipal government’s commitment to the fight against climate change and highlights, in this regard, that “one of the first measures we agreed upon was to declare a climate emergency in La Laguna.”
From there, the mayor explains that there have been various actions and initiatives launched in this regard. Among them, he mentions those related “to the promotion of renewable energies and LED technology, two sources that are respectful of the planet.”
With the purpose of strengthening this policy, the increase, by 167%, of the budget available for this year for the Department of the Environment, Fight against Climate Change, Animal Health and Welfare, an area directed by José Luis Hernández. The objective of the budget increase is to develop projects valued as important. The mayor cites the creation of energy communities and the installation of photovoltaic plates and panels in public buildings. In addition, “the greatest deployment of LED technology in neighborhoods and towns” is contemplated.
Many benefits
Regarding this last purpose, the Councilor for Municipal Services, Josimar Hernández, elaborates on the work that has been carried out from the area to replace the light points with others equipped with LED-type luminaires, “with which we save on the electricity bill , we offer greater security guarantees to citizens, because it allows improving the lighting of the roads; We reduce carbon dioxide emissions, we respect the Sky Law that is applied in the Canary Islands and we reduce light pollution, helping to protect our biodiversity.
“From the council we will continue to advance in the reconversion of public lighting in La Laguna in view of the benefits it entails and the very positive data that we have obtained up to now,” emphasizes the mayor. In this regard, it points out that there has been a 64% increase in the replacement of luminaires, going from 1,180 in 2020 to 1,940 in the last year.
The renewal carried out in these two years has generated, according to the balance made by the company that provides the service, Effico, an estimated energy saving of 640,000 kilowatt hours (kWh/year) (400,000 in 2021 and 240,000 in the previous period ). These figures, according to approximate calculations, “have allowed the City Council to reduce its electricity bill by 104,000 euros and, in addition, have avoided the emission of 700 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”
Josimar Hernández adds that some of the areas in which intervention was carried out in 2021 are Geneto, Valle Tabares, Valle Jiménez and Las Mercedes. El Batán and the tram route between Cruz de Piedra and the Guajara Campus are added.
