The measures implemented by the Municipality to lower energy costs are giving their first results. In September, spending on electricity was almost 100,000 euros lower than the office forecast. “The switching off of the light points caused a sensation when it was announced in August, but now the results are visible and are better than our already optimistic forecasts,” explains the mayor, Oscar De Pellegrin. “The effort required of citizens has a specific purpose and now we can say that we are approaching the goal, that of obtaining the greatest possible savings and, possibly, of being able to fully support the costs of bills without having to resort to new budgetary maneuvers . Of course, we stay at the window and monitor the prices per kilowatt hour: if they rise, we will have to recalculate everything ».
The data are eloquent, with the change of pace introduced since September. Until August, the switching off of the light points generated a consumption saving of about 20%, not enough to cause reductions in the bill. Just think that the bill for August 2021 was 67,822 euros, while that of the same month of this year rose to 154,813 euros despite the partial shutdown of public lighting.
It was the extension of the measure to all 6400 light points in the city, first from 2.30 to 5.30 in the morning and, now, from 1 to 5, to bring clear results. The expenditure forecast for the month of September, in fact, spoke of 233 thousand euros but the bill received in recent days at Palazzo Rosso is 128 thousand. Almost 100 thousand euros less than the hypothesis.
The numbers relating to the two galleries are also positive, shut down 24 hours a day since mid-August. The Maraga cost, in September, just 5.48 euros while the Belluno to which some external street lamps are connected, 1,126 euros.
A slight change was recently introduced in the closing time of the lighting points, from 1 to 5 and no longer until 5.30, to facilitate workers who leave home early in the morning.
“If the trend remains this and if the cost remains in the range of 0.55 – 0.78 euros / kilowatt hour, then we could hope not to have to resort to a new budget variation to allocate another 300 thousand euros to cover the increases”, concludes the councilor for the budget and deputy mayor, Paolo Gamba. “In the meantime we are evaluating and studying other measures, to contain spending even within the municipal offices.”